Data recording/reproducing device, file managing method, file information generating method, file managing method, management information generating device, management information analyzing device, and medium

ABSTRACT

An apparatus comprising a transmission/reception device for transmitting/receiving data and command signals from a transmission line, a recording/reproducing device for recording data received from the transmission/reception device on a recording medium during reception and for transmitting data reproduced from the recording medium to the transmission/reception device during transmission, an operation device for generating an operation signal for determining the operation of the recording/reproducing device, a control device for controlling the recording/reproducing device in accordance with the command signals or the operation signal, and a switching signal generation device for outputting a switching signal for determining whether the operation signal is valid or invalid to the control device.

SPECIFICATION

Data recording/reproducing apparatus, file management method, filesystem information generation method, file management method, filesystem information generation apparatus, file system informationanalysis apparatus and medium.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a data recording/reproducing apparatusfor recording/reproducing digital stream data. Furthermore, it relatesto a data recording/reproducing apparatus for recording/reproducingdigital video and audio stream data as files.

BACKGROUND ART

Various digital interfaces and peripheral apparatuses connected theretohave been developed at present. In addition, it has been increasing tocontrol the peripheral apparatuses by using personal computers, therebyto record/reproduce video and audio signals.

In accordance with the progress of such technologies, problems describedbelow at 1) to 6) have been caused. Those conventional technologies andproblems related thereto will be described below.

1) A control apparatus and a conventional recording/reproducingapparatus connected thereto will be described. FIG. 43 is a blockdiagram showing the configuration of the conventionalrecording/reproducing apparatus. In FIG. 43, the numeral 401 representsa control apparatus, the numeral 402 represents a transmission line, thenumeral 403 represents a recording/reproducing unit, the numeral 404represents an operation panel, the numeral 415 represents an operationsignal, the numeral 411 represents data, the numeral 413 represents aresponse, the numeral 412 represents a command, the numeral 408represents a recording/reproducing apparatus, the numeral 406 representsan IEEE1394 Interface (hereinafter referred to as an I/F), the numeral405 represents a processor, and the numeral 414 represents a controlsignal.

The operation of the recording/reproducing apparatus configured asdescribed above will be described.

The control apparatus 401 is connected to the recording/reproducingapparatus 408 by the transmission line 402. In the transmission andreception of the data 411 and the command 412 between the controlapparatus 401 and the recording/reproducing apparatus 408, the data 411to be recorded is transmitted from the control apparatus 401 to therecording/reproducing unit 403 via the I/F 406, and the command 412 istransmitted to the processor 405 during transmission; the reproduceddata 411 is transmitted from the recording/reproducing unit 403 to thecontrol apparatus 401 via the I/F 406, and the response 413 to aspecific command 412 required to be responded to the control apparatus401 is transmitted in the same way from the processor 405 to the controlapparatus 401 via the I/F 406 during reception. Furthermore, theoperation panel 404 generates the operation signal 415 for instructingthe operation of the recording/reproducing unit 403; the processor 405outputs the control signal 414 for controlling the recording/reproducingunit 403 to the recording/reproducing unit 403; and therecording/reproducing unit 403 records the data 411 on a recordingmedium or reproduces the data 411 from the recording medium on the basisof the control signal 414.

In the above-mentioned conventional configuration, when the processor405 receives the operation signal 415 generated by the operation panel404 during the transmission/reception of the data 411 and the command412 between the control apparatus 401 and the recording/reproducingapparatus 408, the processor 405 controls the recording/reproducing unit403 on the basis of the operation signal 415, whereby trouble occursduring the transmission and reception, causing a problem of making therecording/reproducing apparatus 408 malfunction.

2) Furthermore, the contents of data recorded on a recording medium aregenerally grasped only by an individual who carried out recording; inaddition, efforts to attach a seal to the recording medium, to put alist in a cassette case and keep them together, and the like arerequired. Besides, in actual reproduction, in the case when therecording medium is a tape, search for portions where data is recordedis required while checking the contents by fast forward operation,thereby causing a problem of improper operability.

3) Furthermore, when MS-DOS is taken as an example for explanation, sucha data recording apparatus as a hard disk (hereinafter referred to as anHDD) of a conventional personal computer (hereinafter referred to as aPC) is configured to have a boot sector having physical characteristicsof the disk and a routine for booting (starting) the computer, a fileallocation table indicating locations where individual files arerecorded on the disk in cluster units, a root directory wherein theentries of files and subdirectories are recorded, and a file areawherein subdirectories and data are recorded, thereby being capable ofrecording files.

A file entry used as information regarding a file comprises informationof 32 bytes including a file name (eight bytes), an extension (threebytes), a file attribute (1 byte), a creation date and time or the lastrenewal date and time (four bytes), a recording position (two bytes)indicated by the first cluster number, a file size (four bytes), etc.Among these, the file attribute is information for indicating what kindof characteristics the file has, and the individual bits thereof aresupposed to indicate file/read-only/hidden file/system file/volumelabel/subdirectory/archive file, etc. Furthermore, the extensionindicates what kind of computer software the file is compatible with.

In actual operation, the PC transmits commands to the HDD, and a datareading instruction and data the number of bytes of which has beendesignated are transmitted, whereby file data is read; in a similar way,a data writing instruction and data the number of bytes of which hasbeen designated are received, whereby file data can be written. Inreading/writing files, instructions are not issued in file units, but aproper byte length is designated and data is transferred; furthermore,since instruction issuing timing is not controlled, the transfer rate offile data is not constant. The rate depends on the inherent transferrate of the HDD and the processing speed of the PC; furthermore, whenthe PC is carrying out another process, the processing speed of the PCmay be affected thereby.

This kind of system cannot treat data required to have a real-timecharacteristic, in particular, video data, audio data, etc; however,since data treated by computers at present includes a lot of datarequired to have a real-time characteristic, such as video and audiodata, the above-mentioned system is improper.

Furthermore, in the case when data is transferred to a sequentiallyrecording/reproducing medium such as a tape instead of the HDD,repositioning, that is, a method wherein operation, interruption, slightrewinding and operation once again are repeated, is carried out toadjust the difference between the transfer rate and recording rate;however, since this operation takes time, and the actual transfer ratebecomes lower. To solve this problem, a method of preventing therepositioning is available wherein the difference between the transferrate and the recording rate is recorded as a dummy; however, ifrecording is carried out in accordance with this method, the amount ofdata treated in byte units is changed; when data is copied or movedbetween different recording media, checking empty areas and the likecannot be accomplished, even if attempted.

4) Furthermore, a home-use digital VCR “DV” (Digital Video) using amagnetic tape is available as a medium for storing multimediainformation including video and audio data at present. It is now underconsideration to connect this DV to a PC and to use it as a recordingmedium for the PC, just as a hard disk, a floppy disk, etc. existing atpresent.

In the case when data on an existing recording medium is treated in afile format, a file management system (hereinafter referred to as a filesystem) peculiar to each recording medium is required, just as FAT (FileAllocation Table) for a hard disk and a floppy disk, or CDFS for aCD-ROM. However, no file system is available for-the DV at present.

It is herein thought to adopt an existing file system, such as the FATor CDFS, for the DV. However, the FAT and CDFS are file systems formedia capable of carrying out random access, such as magnetic disks andmagneto-optic disks; if the above-mentioned existing file systems areadopted for a medium like a magnetic tape for the DV and the likewherein sequential access is carried out basically, a problem ofrequiring longer time for access or the like is caused.

5) Furthermore, the MPEG2-coding system is one of typical compressionformats of video/audio information; in order to transmit this, theMPEG2-TS (Transport Stream) Standard is available, and there is a methodwherein MPEG2-coded audio/video information is divided into packetsreferred to as transport packets having a fixed length and thentransmitted.

In the MPEG2-TS Standard, jitter is strictly required to be within ±30ppm with respect to the arrival timing of a packet; in order to receiveand record transmitted data by a recording/reproducing apparatus, toretransmit data reproduced by the recording/reproducing apparatus, toreceive the data by a decoder and then to output images, the restorationof the packet output timing at the time of reception becomes a problem.

When transmitting transport packets by using a digital interfacestipulated as IEEE1394 as a transmission line, a four-byte transmissiontime stamp is generated for each transport packet by an apparatus on thetransmission side by using a CTR (Cycle Time Register) wherein 24.576MHz count value used as the clock of the IEEE1394 transmission line isretained. Since the transmission time stamp is used to stipulate thetiming when output is carried out from the receiving means of anapparatus for receiving the MPEG-TS signal to the inside of theapparatus, it is generated by calculating offset values such as a delaydue to the buffer of the transmission means of a signal source, a delaydue to the transmission line, and a delay due to the buffer of thereception means of the reception apparatus. A source packet is formed byadding the transmission time stamp to each transport packet of 188bytes, and the packets are divided/connected in accordance withtransmission ranges in the IEEE1394 transmission line and transmitted byisochronous communication wherein the real-time characteristic can bemaintained.

The recording/reproducing apparatus generates timing informationreferred to as a recording time stamp on the basis of 27 MHz, i.e., theoperation clock of the recording/reproducing apparatus so that thetransmission time interval between packets at the time of recording canbe maintained at the time of reproduction; and the information is addedto the transport packets and recorded.

If a difference occurs between the operation clock of therecording/reproducing apparatus and the operation clock of atransmission destination, the difference accumulates during long-timerecording, and data overflow or underflow occurs, whereby recordingcannot be carried out properly; therefore, the operation clock of therecording/reproducing apparatus is required to follow the operationclock of the transmission destination. For this purpose, the content ofeach transport packet is analyzed, and the operation clock of therecording/reproducing apparatus is generated from the PCR (Program ClockReference) value included therein by using a PLL (Phase Locked Loop)circuit.

At the time of reproduction, the recording/reproducing apparatusrestructures transport packets, restores the same time interval betweenpackets as that at the time of recording on the basis of the recordingtime stamp added to each restructured transport packet and the countvalue of the operation clock of the recording/reproducing apparatus,regenerates and adds the transmission time stamp, and carries out outputand transmission to the IEEE1394 transmission line.

The packets transmitted from the recording/reproducing apparatus arereceived by the MPEG decoder, and transport packets are restructured. Ifa difference occurs between the operation clock of therecording/reproducing apparatus and the operation clock of the MPEGdecoder at this time just as at the time of recording, data overflow orunder flow occurs during long-time reproduction, whereby reproductioncannot be carried out properly; therefore, the operation clock of thedecoder is required to follow the operation clock of therecording/reproducing apparatus. For this purpose, the content of eachtransport packet is analyzed, and the operation clock of the MPEGdecoder is generated from the PCR (Program Clock Reference) valueincluded therein by using a PLL (Phase Locked Loop) circuit.

As described above, in the conventional recording/reproducing apparatus,the restoration of the output timing by the detection of thetransmission time stamp, and the restoration of 27 MHz clock by theanalysis of a transport packet header and PCR, the generation andaddition of the recording time stamp are required, and the apparatus hasa disadvantage of becoming larger in size to carry out transmission,recording and reproduction. In particular, the analysis of the MPEGheader requires simplified decoding, and the apparatus becomes larger insize. In the recording/reproducing apparatus which is supposed not tohave any MPEG decoding means therein so that decoding is carried out byan external decoder, this impairs the essential purpose of reducing thesize of the apparatus by not having any decoding means.

6) Furthermore, as PCs are improved in performance, data required to betreated in real time as video/audio data is increasingly treated by thePCs. The IEEE1394 is available as an interface for this purpose.Video/audio data can be transmitted in real time by using isochronoustransmission wherein data is kept transmitted at nearly regularintervals, that is, one of the transmission modes of the IEEE1394.

Furthermore, the IEEE1394 is provided for the home-use digital VCR “DV”(Digital Video); by connecting it to a PC provided with the IEEE1394,data transmission can be carried out between the PC and the DV, andoperation control for the DV can be carried out from the PC.

Furthermore, a hard disk has been used conventionally as a recordingmedium of a PC, and data transfer between two hard disks are carried outas described below.

A processor transmits a reading command to a SCSI I/F circuit; afterreceiving the reading command, the SCSI I/F circuit reads data having apredetermined size from one of the hard disks, and writes the data in amemory. Next, the processor transmits a writing command to the SCSI I/Fcircuit; after receiving the writing command, the SCSI I/F circuit takesout all data or only the required data written in the memory, and writesthe data on the other hard disk. Furthermore, when data is transferred,the above-mentioned operation is repeated as necessary.

However, in the above-mentioned conventional configuration, when data isread from a hard disk, only the predetermined size of data can be readeach time one reading command is issued from the processor; when readingmore amount of data, a reading command is required to be issued newly.In the case when writing on a hard disk is carried out after readingfrom the hard disk is completed, and data reading from the hard disk isfollowed, it is necessary to wait for the completion of the writing.Therefore, a wait period is required when reading data from the harddisk.

Since data transfer is carried out in accordance with a data requestfrom the SCSI I/F interface, the above-mentioned SCSI hard disk operateswith no problem; however, in the case when a DV is used instead of oneof the hard disks, and when the IEEE1394 Interface is used instead ofthe SCSI I/F, data packets having a predetermined size aretransmitted/received nearly periodically; therefore, a problem ofcausing data loss is apt to occur during the wait period.

As described above, the various conventional technologies have theabove-mentioned problems.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

The present invention has the following objects, solving means andeffects.

1) The present invention is intended to solve the above-mentionedproblems, and it is also intended to provide a datarecording/reproducing apparatus which, during transmission/receptionbetween a control apparatus and the recording/reproducing apparatus, iscapable of preventing the above-mentioned transmission/reception frommalfunctioning by inputting an operation signal generated by anoperation panel to a processor in the case when the control apparatuscontrols the recording/reproducing apparatus.

Claims

One aspect of the invention is a recording/reproducing apparatuscomprising:

a transmission/reception means for transmitting/receiving data andcommand signals from a transmission line;

a recording/reproducing means for recording data received from saidtransmission/reception means on a recording medium during reception andfor transmitting data reproduced from said recording medium to saidtransmission/reception means during transmission;

an operation means for generating an operation signal for determiningthe operation of said recording/reproducing means;

a control means for controlling said recording/reproducing means inaccordance with said command signals or said operation signal; and

a switching signal generation means for outputting a switching signalfor determining whether said operation signal is valid or invalid tosaid control means,

wherein said switching signal generation means outputs an operationmeans valid signal for validating said operation signal to said controlmeans as said switching signal in the case when a command received fromsaid transmission/reception means is a first command, and said switchingsignal generation means outputs an operation means invalid signal forinvalidating said operation signal to said control means as saidswitching signal in the,case when a command received from saidtransmission/reception means is a second command, and

said control means validates said operation signal output from saidoperation means in the case of receiving said operation means validsignal, and said control means invalidates said operation signal outputfrom said operation means in the case of receiving said operation meansinvalid signal.

Another aspect of the invention is a recording/reproducing apparatuscomprising:

a transmission/reception means for transmitting/receiving data andcommand signals from a transmission line, and generating a transmissionline reset signal in the case when the connection of said transmissionline is disconnected;

a recording/reproducing means for recording data received from saidtransmission/reception means on a recording medium during reception andfor transmitting data reproduced from said recording medium to saidtransmission/reception means during transmission;

an operation means for generating an operation signal for determiningthe operation of said recording/reproducing means;

a control means for controlling said recording/reproducing means inaccordance with said command signals or said operation signal; and

a switching signal generation means for outputting a switching signalfor determining whether said operation signal is valid or invalid tosaid control means,

wherein said switching signal generation means outputs an operationmeans valid signal for validating said operation signal to said controlmeans as said switching signal in the case of receiving saidtransmission line reset signal from said transmission/reception means,and

said control means validates said operation signal output from saidoperation means in the case of receiving said operation means validsignal.

Still another aspect of the present invention is a recording/reproducingapparatus comprising:

a transmission/reception means for transmitting/receiving data andcommand signals, and for receiving manufacturer information from atransmission line;

a recording/reproducing means for recording data received from saidtransmission/reception means on a recording medium during reception andfor transmitting data reproduced from said recording medium to saidtransmission reception means during transmission;

an operation means for generating an operation signal for determiningthe operation of said recording/reproducing means;

a control means for controlling said recording/reproducing means inaccordance with said command signals or said operation signal;

a switching signal generation means for outputting a switching signalfor determining whether said operation signal is valid or invalid tosaid control means; and

a memory for comparing said manufacturer information with specificmanufacturer information stored in itself, and outputs a specificmanufacturer information reception signal in the case of coincidence;

wherein said switching signal generation means outputs an operationmeans invalid signal for invalidating said operation signal to saidcontrol means as said switching signal in the case of receiving saidspecific manufacturer information reception signal from said memory, and

said control means invalidates said operation signal output from saidoperation means in the case of receiving said operation means invalidsignal.

Yet another aspect of the present invention is a recording/reproducingapparatus comprising:

a transmission/reception means for transmitting/receiving data andcommand signals from a transmission line;

a recording/reproducing means for recording data received from saidtransmission/reception means on a recording medium during reception andfor transmitting data reproduced from said recording medium to saidtransmission/reception means during transmission;

an operation means for generating an operation signal for determiningthe operation of said recording/reproducing means;

a control means for controlling said recording/reproducing means inaccordance with said command signals or said operation signal;

a switching signal generation means for outputting a switching signalfor determining whether said operation signal is valid or invalid tosaid control means; and

a binary switch for outputting a binary signal, wherein said switchingsignal generation means generates said operation means invalid signalonly when said binary signal is a predetermined value, and

said control means invalidates said operation signal output from saidoperation means in the case of receiving said operation means invalidsignal.

In accordance with the present invention, even if the operation signalgenerated by the operation panel is transmitted to the processor duringthe transmission/reception of data and commands between the controlapparatus and the recording/reproducing apparatus, the processorcontrols the recording/reproducing unit on the basis of the switchingsignal generated by the switching signal generation unit, whereby therecording/reproducing apparatus can be prevented from malfunctioning.

2) Furthermore, in view of the above-mentioned problems of theconventional data recording apparatus, the present invention is intendedto provide a data recording/reproducing apparatus, a file generationmethod and a file management method capable of generating file systeminformation and controlling the generated files so that contentsrecorded on a recording medium can be confirmed more easily than everbefore

Still yet another aspect of the present invention is a file systeminformation generation method comprising:

a step of reproducing a recording medium on which record informationregarding the division of recording target data and/or regarding therecording date and time of said data added to said recording target datais recorded;

a step of extracting said record information from data recorded on saidrecording medium;

a step of judging the division positions of said recording target datafrom said extracted record information on the basis of a predeterminedreference; and

a step of generating file system information including data divided atsaid division positions.

A further aspect of the present invention is a data recording apparatuscomprising:

a recording means for recording, on a predetermined recording medium,record information regarding the division of said recording target dataand/or regarding the recording date and time of said data added to saidrecording target data;

a reproducing means for reproducing said recording medium;

an extraction means for extracting said record information from saidrecording target data recorded on said recording medium; and

a filing means for judging the division positions of data recorded onsaid recording medium on the basis of a predetermined reference fromsaid record information extracted from said extraction means.

A still further aspect of the present invention is a file managementmethod comprising:

a step of recording subsequent data after data having already beenrecorded on a recording medium on the basis of predetermined recordingstart position information;

a step of recording and controlling information indicating the recordingend position of said subsequent data as said recording start positioninformation for starting the recording of subsequent data;

a step of generating file system information regarding all of saidrecorded data; and

a step of recording said generated file system information after saidsubsequent data.

A yet further aspect of the present invention is a file managementmethod comprising:

a step of recording subsequent data after data having already beenrecorded on a recording medium on the basis of predetermined recordingstart position information;

a step of generating file system information regarding all of saidrecorded data;

a step of repeatedly recording said generated file system information ina plurality of areas after the recording end position of said subsequentdata; and

a step of recording and controlling information indicating predeterminedpositions among said plural areas as said recording start positioninformation for starting the recording of said subsequent data.

A still yet further aspect of the present invention is a file managementmethod comprising:

a step of recording subsequent data after data having already beenrecorded on a recording medium on the basis of predetermined recordingstart position information in a recording apparatus for recording datain one or more divided areas and for recording information regardingpositions wherein said areas are recorded;

a step of generating file system information regarding all of saidrecorded data;

a step of recording said generated file system information as areasdifferent from said subsequent data after said subsequent data; and

a step of recording and controlling information indicating the recordingend position of said file system information as said recording startposition information for starting the recording of subsequent data.

One aspect of the present invention is a data recording apparatus forstarting recording data from the practical head of a recording mediumand for recording recording end position information indicating the endposition of said recording, comprising:

a file system information generation means for generating file systeminformation regarding said data;

a first recording means for recording said data and said file systeminformation; and

a second recording means for recording said recording end positioninformation.

In accordance with the present invention, it has an advantage whereincontents recorded on a recording medium can be confirmed more easilythan ever before. By recording file system information, data to berecorded can be filed and controlled; when reproduction is attemptedafter this cassette is ejected once, the contents recorded on therecording medium can be confirmed easily. Furthermore, processes such asdubbing, editing, deletion, division and the like of recorded data canalso be carried out easily by indicating a file as a unit. Moreover,when data on the display screen is used as file system information, thecontent of the data can be confirmed by video, and therefore, can beconfirmed easily. In addition, compatibility with a conventional datarecording apparatus can be attained. The above-mentioned effects areprovided, and their practical effects are significant.

3) Furthermore, in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems,the present invention is intended to provide a datarecording/reproducing apparatus and a file management method capable ofcarrying out file management capable of treating data having a real-timecharacteristic.

Another aspect of the present invention relates to a file managementmethod for a system for recording, on a recording medium, the mediuminformation of the above-mentioned recording medium itself, one or morefiles and file system information for each of the above-mentioned files,wherein the above-mentioned file system information has real-timecharacteristic identification information for indicating whether data infiles has a real-time characteristic or not.

Still another aspect of the present invention is a file managementmethod for a system for recording, on a recording medium, the mediuminformation of said recording medium itself, one or more files and filesystem information for each of said files, wherein rate informationindicating the original data rate of data is used for files includingdata having a real-time characteristic as said file system information.

Yet another aspect of the present invention is a file management methodfor a system for recording, on a recording medium, the mediuminformation of said recording medium itself, one or more files and filesystem information for each of said files, wherein in the case when theoriginal data rate of data is variable, the maximum rate informationindicating the maximum data rate among said rates is used for filesincluding data having a real-time characteristic as said file systeminformation.

A Further another aspect of the present invention is a file managementmethod for a system for recording, on a recording medium, the mediuminformation of said recording medium itself, one or more files and filesystem information for each of said files, wherein file size informationindicating a time required for the original data rate of data is usedfor files including data having a real-time characteristic as said filesystem information.

A further aspect of the invention is a data control apparatus comprisinga transfer means for transmitting control instructions to a datarecording/reproducing apparatus for recording/reproducing one or morepieces of digital data, and for transmitting/receiving data, whereinsaid transfer means transmits/receives data for files including datahaving a real-time characteristic at a transfer rate set on the basis ofinformation regarding data rates used as file file system information.

In accordance with the present invention, by recording file systeminformation, data having a real-time characteristic, such as video andaudio data, can be treated. Furthermore, even data having a variabletransfer rate can be treated in consideration of the difference betweenthe transfer rate and recording rate. The practical effect of thepresent invention is significant in a present situation wherein variousvideo and audio data as well as simple numeral data and text data areincreasingly being used as data to be treated as files.

4) Furthermore, in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems,the present invention is intended to provide a file system informationgeneration apparatus and a file system information analysis apparatusfor generating file system information constituting a DV file systemrequired to record and control computer data in a file format on a DVand for recording the information at a predetermined position on a tape.

A still further aspect of the present invention is a file systeminformation generation apparatus for generating file system informationfor controlling data recorded on a recording medium,

wherein the minimum structural unit of said data is a file, and themaximum structural unit of said data is a volume,

said volume is a first hierarchical level, a second hierarchical levelis a root directory, and plural hierarchical levels from a thirdhierarchical level to the Mth (M≧3) hierarchical level are files ordirectories, thereby providing plural hierarchical levels,

said file system information is formed of information comprising entriesused as units,

each of said entries has an entry ID for identification of each,

an entry is generated from information for controlling said volume,

an entry is generated for each of said directories from information forcontrolling said directories,

an entry is generated for each of said files from information forcontrolling said files,

said volume entry has information regarding said entry ID of said rootdirectory,

each of said entries generated for directories has information regardingthe entry ID of said entry generated for a directory belonging to saiddirectory or the entry ID of said entry generated for a file belongingto said directory as a content entry ID,

each of said entries generated for files and each of said entriesgenerated for directories have information regarding the entry ID ofsaid entry generated for a file or a directory belonging to a directoryto which said file or said directory belong as a next entry ID, and

all files or directories under said volume are designated once by saidnext entry IDs and said content entry IDs.

A yet further aspect of the invention is a file system informationanalysis apparatus for analyzing file system information for controllingdata recorded on a recording medium,

wherein said entries generated for said volume, directories and filesare analyzed from file system information generated such that:

the minimum structural unit of said data is a file,

the maximum structural unit of said data is a volume, said volume is afirst hierarchical level, a second hierarchical level is a rootdirectory, and plural hierarchical levels from a third hierarchicallevel to the Mth (M≧3) hierarchical level are files or directories,thereby providing plural hierarchical levels,

said file system information is formed of information comprising entriesused as units,

each of said entries has an entry ID for identification of each,

an entry is generated from information for controlling said volume,

an entry is generated for each of said directories from information forcontrolling said directories,

an entry is generated for each of said files from information forcontrolling said files,

said volume entry has information regarding said entry ID of said rootdirectory,

each of said entries generated for directories has information regardingthe entry ID of said entry generated for a directory belonging to saiddirectory or the entry ID of said entry generated for a file belongingto said directory as a content entry ID,

each of said entries generated for files and each of said entriesgenerated for directories have information regarding the entry ID ofsaid entry generated for a file or a directory belonging to a directoryto which said file or said directory belong as a next entry ID, and

all files or directories under said volume are designated once by saidnext entry IDs and said content entry IDs.

In accordance with the present invention, just as conventional magneticdisc media such as hard disks, floppy disks and CD-ROMs, even magnetictape media for a DV and the like can treat file format data. Inaddition, it is possible to generate file system information forcontrolling file format data and to analyze the generated file systeminformation.

5) Furthermore, the present invention is intended to solve theabove-mentioned problems, thereby being capable of restoring packetoutput timing during reproduction by using minimal additional circuitsin the case of recording MPEG2data, and being capable of recording datain the MPEG2transport stream format while the existing digital VCR “DV”(Digital Video) format is utilized in particular.

A still yet further aspect of the present invention is arecording/reproducing apparatus for receiving and recording digital datatransmitted via a transmission line, and for reproducing andtransmitting said recorded digital data to said transmission line,

wherein when each packet constituting said digital data is transmittedthrough said transmission line, said each packet is generated on thebasis of output timing from a signal source to a transmission meansconnected to said transmission line, and a transmission time stamp usedas information added to all or part of said packets is recorded whilebeing kept added to each of said packets.

One aspect of the present invention is a recording/reproducing apparatusfor receiving and recording digital data transmitted via a transmissionline, and for reproducing and transmitting said recorded digital data tosaid transmission line,

wherein the type of said digital data is discriminated, depending onsaid type, switching is carried out between recording with saidtransmission time stamp kept added to said each packet constituting saiddigital data and recording without said time stamp, and informationindicating whether said time stamp has been added or not is alsorecorded.

21-th present invention (corresponding to claim 58) is arecording/reproducing apparatus for receiving and recording digital datatransmitted via a transmission line, and for reproducing andtransmitting said recorded digital data to said transmission line,

wherein the type of said digital data is discriminated, depending onsaid type, switching is carried out between recording with saidtransmission time stamp kept added to said each packet constituting saiddigital data and recording without said time stamp, and informationindicating whether said time stamp has been added or not is alsorecorded.

In accordance with the present invention, packet output timing duringreproduction can be restored by using minimal additional circuits in thecase of recording MPEG2data. Furthermore, data in the MPEG2transportstream format can be recorded while compatibility with the existingdigital VCR format is maintained in particular.

6) Furthermore, in view of these conventional problems, the presentinvention is intended to provide a method of writing stream data beingkept output at nearly regular intervals at all times on a recordingmedium without data loss in a PC, and a method of reading data from therecording medium and transmitting the data as stream data being kepttransmitted at nearly regular intervals at all times in the PC.

A another aspect of the present invention is a method of writing streamdata on a recording medium in a system comprising:

a stream data output unit for continuously outputting data at all timesat substantially regular intervals;

a first interface for receiving said stream data;

a recording medium;

a second interface for writing data on said recording medium;

a memory for temporarily storing data;

a processor for controlling the operation of said first interface andsaid second interface; and

a bus for connecting said first interface, said second interface, saidmemory and said processor,

wherein said processor transmits a reception command to said firstinterface and a writing command to said second interface, respectively,

after receiving said reception command, said first interfacesequentially writes said received stream data in said memory throughsaid bus, and

after receiving said writing command, said second interface sequentiallyreads a necessary portion from said stream data written in said memorythrough said bus, and writes said portion in said recording medium.

Still another aspect of the present invention is a method of writingstream data on a recording medium in a system comprising:

a stream data output unit for continuously outputting data at all timesat nearly regular intervals after receiving an output start command;

a first interface for receiving said stream data and transmitting acontrol command to said stream data output unit;

a recording medium;

a second interface for writing data on said recording medium;

a memory for temporarily storing data;

a processor for controlling the operation of said first interface andsaid second interface, for generating the control command of said streamdata output unit, and for outputting to said first interface; and

a bus for connecting said first interface, said second interface, saidmemory and said processor, wherein said processor transmits a receptioncommand to said first interface and a writing command to said secondinterface, respectively, after transmitting said output start command assaid control command to said stream data output unit through said firstinterface,

after receiving said reception command, said first interfacesequentially writes said received stream data in said memory throughsaid bus,

after receiving said writing command, said second interface sequentiallyreads a necessary portion from said stream data written in said memorythrough said bus, and writes the portion in said recording medium,

in the case when necessary data cannot be written completely at the timeof writing on said recording medium, said processor transmits a dataretransmission command as said control command to said stream dataoutput unit through said first interface,

said first interface sequentially writes said received steam data insaid memory through said bus, and

said second interface reads a portion not written at the last time fromsaid stream data written in said memory through said bus, and writessaid portion on said recording medium.

Yet another aspect of the present invention is a method of readingstream data from a recording medium in a system comprising:

a stream data input unit for continuously outputting data at all timesat substantially regular intervals;

a first interface for transmitting said stream data;

a recording medium;

a second interface for reading data from said recording medium;

a memory for temporarily storing data;

a processor for controlling the operation of said first interface andsaid second interface; and

a bus for connecting said first interface, said second interface, saidmemory and said processor,

wherein said processor transmits a transmission command to said firstinterface and a reading command to said second interface, respectively,

after receiving said reading command, said second interface reads datafrom said recording medium, and writes through said bus, and

after receiving said transmission command, said first interface readsdata written in said memory through said bus, and transmits as saidstream data to said stream data input unit.

In accordance with the present invention, once the processor issues thereception command and the writing command, the process of the IEEE1394Interface and the process of the SCSI Interface are conducted inparallel, whereby all of the received data or required data among thereceived data can be written completely on the hard disk.

In addition, once the processor issues the reception command and thewriting command, the process of the IEEE1394 Interface and the processof the SCSI Interface are conducted in parallel; furthermore, in thecase when a data loss occurs, the processor transmits the retransmissioncommand to the DV, whereby the same data is received a plurality oftimes to recover the lost data, and the required data can thus bewritten in the hard disk completely.

Moreover, once the processor issues the transmission command and thereading command, the process of the IEEE1394 Interface and the processof the SCSI Interface are conducted in parallel, whereby data read fromthe hard disk can be transmitted to the DV via the IEEE1394 Interfacewithout interruption.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram in accordance with a first embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram in accordance with a second embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram in accordance with a third embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram in accordance with a fourth embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a data recording apparatus in accordancewith a fifth embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a view of an example showing a condition of a recording mediumon which recording is carried out by the data recording apparatus inaccordance with the fifth embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a view of an example of individual file information/cassetteinformation generated/controlled by the recording apparatus inaccordance with the fifth embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a data recording apparatus in accordancewith a sixth embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an example of the configuration of a filemanager 111 or 112 in accordance with a seventh embodiment;

FIG. 10(a) is a block diagram of another example of the configuration ofa file manager 111 or 112 in accordance with an eighth embodiment;

FIG. 10(b) is a block configuration diagram of a time code discontinuitydetector shown in FIG. 10(a);

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of another example of the configuration of afile manager 112 in accordance with a ninth embodiment;

FIG. 12 is explanatory views for explaining the conditions of arecording medium on which recording is carried out by the data recordingapparatus in accordance with the sixth embodiment;

FIG. 13 is explanatory views for explaining the conditions of arecording medium on which recording is carried out by the data recordingapparatus in accordance with the sixth embodiment;

FIG. 14 is explanatory views for explaining the conditions of arecording medium on which recording is carried out by the data recordingapparatus in accordance with the sixth embodiment;

FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing a data control apparatus and a datarecording/reproducing apparatus in accordance with a tenth embodiment;

FIGS. 16(a) to 16(b) are a view of an example of a condition of arecording medium on which recording is carried out by the datarecording/reproducing apparatus in accordance with the tenth embodiment;

FIG. 17 is a view showing an example of file system information/mediuminformation generated/controlled in accordance with the tenthembodiment;

FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing a data control apparatus and a datarecording/reproducing apparatus in accordance with an eleventhembodiment;

FIG. 19 is a block diagram of an apparatus for attaining a twelfthembodiment;

FIGS. 20(a) to 20(c) are a view showing an example of each entrygenerated by a file system information generation apparatus inaccordance with the twelfth embodiment;

FIG. 21 is a hierarchical structural view of a root directory,directories and files;

FIG. 22 is a view showing file system information comprising entries;

FIG. 23 is a hierarchical structural view of a root directory,directories and files;

FIG. 24 is a view showing file system information comprising entries;

FIG. 25 is a block diagram of apparatuses for attaining a thirteenthembodiment;

FIG. 26 is a view of an example showing a condition of a recordingmedium on which recording is carried out by the apparatuses inaccordance with the twelfth and thirteenth embodiments;

FIG. 27 is an explanatory view of an algorithm for attaining thethirteenth embodiment;

FIG. 28 is a block diagram of apparatuses for attaining amemorizing/reproducing apparatus in accordance with a fourteenthembodiment;

FIG. 29 is a diagrammatic view of a source packet for explainingprocessing at a signal source and others; ???

FIG. 30 is a block diagram of apparatuses for attaining amemorizing/reproducing apparatus in accordance with a fifteenthembodiment;

FIG. 31 is a data arrangement diagram for explaining amemorizing/reproducing apparatus in accordance with a sixteenthembodiment;

FIG. 32 is a block diagram of a computer in accordance with aseventeenth embodiment;

FIG. 33 is a view showing a concrete example of data 261 in accordancewith the seventeenth embodiment;

FIG. 34 is a view showing a configuration example of a memory 252 inaccordance with the seventeenth embodiment;

FIG. 35 is a time chart for data transmission in accordance with theseventeenth embodiment;

FIG. 36 is a block diagram of a computer in accordance with aneighteenth embodiment;

FIG. 37 is a view showing an example of data written on a hard disk 257in accordance with the eighteenth embodiment;

FIG. 38 is a time chart for data transmission in accordance with theeighteenth embodiment;

FIG. 39 is a block diagram of a computer in accordance with a nineteenthembodiment;

FIG. 40 is a view showing a configuration example of a memory 312 inaccordance with the nineteenth embodiment;

FIG. 41 is a time chart for data transmission in accordance with thenineteenth embodiment;

FIGS. 42(a) to (c) are views for explaining implementation by programs;and

FIG. 43 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a conventionalrecording/reproducing apparatus.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Embodiments in accordance with the present invention will be describedbelow referring to FIGS. 1 to 42.

Embodiment 1

FIG. 1 is a block diagram in accordance with a first embodiment of thepresent invention; in FIG. 1, the numeral 1 represents a controlapparatus, the numeral 2 represents a transmission line, the numeral 3represents a recording/reproducing unit, the numeral 4 represents anoperation panel, the numeral 5 represents an operation signal, thenumeral 6 represents data, the numeral 7 represents a response, thenumeral 8 represents a command, the numeral 11 represents arecording/reproducing apparatus, the numeral 12 represents an IEEE1394Interface (hereinafter referred to as an I/F), the numeral 13 representsa processor, the numeral 14 represents a switching signal generationunit, the numeral 15 represents an operation signal valid command or anoperation signal invalid command, the numeral 16 represents a switchingsignal, and the numeral 17 represents a control signal.

In the recording/reproducing apparatus configured as described above,its operation will be described below.

In the transmission and reception of the data 6 and the command 8between the control apparatus 1 and the recording/reproducing apparatus11, the data 6 to be recorded is transmitted from the control apparatus1 to the recording/reproducing unit 3 via the I/F 12, and the command 8is transmitted to the processor 13 and the switching signal generationunit 14 during transmission; and the reproduced data 6 is transmittedfrom the recording/reproducing unit 3 to the control apparatus 1 via theI/F 12, and the response 7 to a specific command 8 required to beresponded to the control apparatus 1 is transmitted in the same way fromthe processor 13 to the control apparatus 1 via the I/F 12 duringreception. Furthermore, the operation panel 4 generates the operationsignal 5 for determining the operation of the recording/reproducing unit3.

The switching signal generation unit 14 generates the switching signal16 for switching the operation signal 5 to its valid or invalid state;the processor 13 outputs the control signal 17 for controlling therecording/reproducing unit 3 on the basis of the switching signal 16 tothe recording/reproducing unit 3; and the recording/reproducing unit 3records the data 6 on a recording medium or reproduces the data 6 fromthe recording medium on the basis of the control signal 17.

In the above-mentioned configuration, in the case when the operationsignal invalid command 15 is present among the commands 8 received fromthe control apparatus 1 via the I/F 12, the switching signal generationunit 14 outputs an operation panel invalid signal for invalidating theoperation signals 5 generated subsequently at the operation panel 4 asthe switching signal 16 to the processor 13, and priority is given tosubsequent commands 8; after all the commands 8 are processedcompletely, the operation signal valid command 15 is output, and anoperation panel valid signal for validating the operation signals 5generated subsequently at the operation panel 4 is output as theswitching signal 16 to the processor 13. And the processor 13 validatesor invalidates the operation signal 5 on the basis of the switchingsignal 16; when valid, the recording/reproducing unit 3 is controlled onthe basis of the operation signal 5; and when invalid, therecording/reproducing unit 3 is controlled on the basis of a specificcommand 8 for controlling the recording/reproducing unit 3 among thecommands 8 received from the control apparatus 1 via the I/F 12.

Therefore, even if the operation signal 5 generated at the operationpanel 4 during the transmission/reception of the data 6 and the command8 between the control apparatus 1 and the recording/reproducingapparatus 11 is transmitted to the processor 13, the processor 13controls the recording/reproducing unit 3 on the basis of the switchingsignal 16 generated by the switching signal generation unit 14, wherebythe recording/reproducing apparatus 11 can be prevented frommalfunctioning.

The present invention is applicable even when the above-mentionedcontrol apparatus 1 is an editing apparatus, and the present inventionis also applicable even when an interface other than the above-mentionedIEEE1394 I/F 12 is used. Furthermore, generally speaking, instead of theoperation panel installed in the recording/reproducing apparatus, aremote controller having the same function can carry out control;however, by invalidating an operation signal from the remote controllerjust as invalidating the operation signal from the operation panel, itis possible to obtain the same effect of preventing therecording/reproducing apparatus from malfunctioning because of theoperation signal supplied from the remote controller while thedata/command is transmitted or received between the control apparatusand the recording/reproducing apparatus.

Embodiment 2

FIG. 2 is a block diagram in accordance with a second embodiment of thepresent invention; in FIG. 2, the numeral 21 represents arecording/reproducing apparatus, the numeral 22 represents an IEEE1394Interface (hereinafter referred to as an I/F), the numeral 23 representsa processor, the numeral 24 represents a switching signal generationunit, the numeral 25 represents a transmission line reset signal, thenumeral 26 represents a switching signal, and the numeral 27 representsa control signal. In FIG. 2, the same portions as those of therecording/reproducing apparatus of FIG. 1 are represented by the samenumerals, and their descriptions are omitted.

In the recording/reproducing apparatus configured as described above,its operation will be described below.

In the transmission and reception of the data 6 and the command 8between the control apparatus 1 and the recording/reproducing apparatus21, the data 6 to be recorded 6 is transmitted from the controlapparatus 1 to the recording/reproducing unit 3 via the I/F 22, and thecommand 8 is transmitted to the processor 23 during transmission; andthe reproduced data 6 is transmitted from the recording/reproducing unit3 to the control apparatus 1 via the I/F 22, and the response 7 to aspecific command 8 required to be responded to the control apparatus 1is transmitted in the same way from the processor 23 to the controlapparatus 1 via the I/F 22 during reception. Furthermore, the operationpanel 4 generates the operation signal 5 for determining the operationof the recording/reproducing unit 3, and the switching signal generationunit 24 generates the switching signal 26 for switching the operationsignal 5 to its valid or invalid state; the processor 23 outputs thecontrol signal 27 for controlling the recording/reproducing unit 3 onthe basis of the switching signal to the recording/reproducing unit 3;and the recording/reproducing unit 3 records the data 6 on a recordingmedium or reproduces the data 6 from the recording medium on the basisof the control signal 27.

In the above-mentioned configuration, in the case when the transmissionline reset signal 25 generated from the I/F 22 is received from the I/F22 when the connection to the transmission line 2 is disconnected, theswitching signal generation unit 24 outputs an operation panel validsignal for validating the operation signals 5 generated at the operationpanel 4 as the switching signal 26 to the processor 23. And theprocessor 23 validates the operation signal 5 on the basis of theswitching signal 26 and controls the recording/reproducing unit 3 on thebasis of the operation signal 5.

Therefore, even if the operation signal 5 generated at the operationpanel 4 during the transmission/reception of the data 6 and the command8 between the control apparatus 1 and the recording/reproducingapparatus 21 is transmitted to the processor 23, the processor 23controls the recording/reproducing unit 3 on the basis of the switchingsignal 26 generated by the switching signal generation unit 24, wherebythe recording/reproducing apparatus 21 can be prevented frommalfunctioning. Furthermore, when the transmission line is reset,control from the control apparatus cannot be carried out; however, therecording/reproducing apparatus can be controlled interlocked with thereset by the operation panel of the recording/reproducing apparatus,thereby being capable of preventing trouble.

The present invention is applicable even when the above-mentionedcontrol apparatus 1 is an editing apparatus, and the present inventionis also applicable even when an interface other than the above-mentionedIEEE1394 I/F 22 is used. Furthermore, generally speaking, instead of theoperation panel installed in the recording/reproducing apparatus, aremote controller having the same function can carry out control;however, by invalidating an operation signal from the operation panel,or by invalid/valid switching of the operation signal from the remotecontroller, just as validating the operation signal from the operationpanel on the basis of the transmission line reset signal, it is possibleto obtain the same effect of preventing the recording/reproducingapparatus from malfunctioning because of the operation signal suppliedfrom the remote controller while the data/command is transmitted orreceived between the control apparatus and the recording/reproducingapparatus.

Embodiment 3

FIG. 3 is a block diagram in accordance with a third embodiment of thepresent invention; in FIG. 3, the numeral 31 represents arecording/reproducing apparatus, the numeral 32 represents an IEEE1394Interface (hereinafter referred to as an I/F), the numeral 33 representsa processor, the numeral 34 represents a switching signal generationunit, the numeral 35 represents a comparator, the numeral 36 representsa manufacturer information, the numeral 37 represents a specificmanufacturer information reception signal, the numeral 38 represents aswitching signal, and the numeral 39 represents a control signal. InFIG. 3, the same portions as those of the recording/reproducingapparatus of FIG. 1 are represented by the same numerals, and theirdescriptions are omitted.

In the recording/reproducing apparatus configured as described above,its operation will be described below.

In the transmission and reception of the data 6 and the command 8between the control apparatus 1 and the recording/reproducing apparatus31, the data 6 to be recorded is transmitted from the control apparatus1 to the recording/reproducing unit 3 via the I/F 32, and the command 8is transmitted to the processor 33 during transmission; and thereproduced data 6 is transmitted from the recording/reproducing unit 3to the control apparatus 1 via the I/F 32, and the response 7 to aspecific command 8 required to be responded to the control apparatus 1is transmitted in the same way from the processor 33 to the controlapparatus 1 via the I/F 32 during reception. Furthermore, the operationpanel 4 generates the operation signal 5 for determining the operationof the recording/reproducing unit 3, and the switching signal generationunit 34 generates the switching signal 38 for switching the operationsignal 5 to its valid or invalid state; the processor 33 outputs thecontrol signal 39 for controlling the recording/reproducing unit 3 onthe basis of the switching signal 38 to the recording/reproducing unit3; and the recording/reproducing unit 3 records the data 6 on arecording medium or reproduces the data 6 from the recording medium onthe basis of the control signal 39.

In the above-mentioned configuration, the I/F 32 transmits themanufacturer information 36 among the data 6 and the command 8 receivedfrom the control apparatus 1 to the memory 35. And the comparator 35compares the manufacturer information 36 with specific manufacturerinformation stored in itself; if there is a coincidence, the specificmanufacturer information is turned ON and output; if there is nocoincidence, the information is turned OFF and output. When theswitching signal generation portion 34 receives the specificmanufacturer information reception signal 37 having been turned ON fromthe comparator 35, the operation panel invalid signal for invalidatingthe operation signal 5 generated at the operation panel 4 is output asthe switching signal 38 to the processor 33. And the processor 33invalidates the operation signal 5 on the basis of the switching signal38, and controls the recording/reproducing unit 3 on the basis of aspecific command 8 for controlling the recording/reproducing unit 3among the commands 8 received from the control apparatus 1 via the I/F32.

Therefore, even if the operation signal 5 generated at the operationpanel 4 during the transmission/reception of the data 6 and the command8 between the control apparatus 1 and the recording/reproducingapparatus 31 is transmitted to the processor 33, the processor 33controls the recording/reproducing unit 3 on the basis of the switchingsignal 38 generated by the switching signal generation unit 34, wherebythe recording/reproducing apparatus 31 can be prevented frommalfunctioning. Malfunction can be prevented even if commandstransmitted from the control apparatus are treated differently by therecording/reproducing apparatus.

The present invention is applicable even when the above-mentionedcontrol apparatus 1 is an editing apparatus, and the present inventionis also applicable even when an interface other than the above-mentionedIEEE1394 I/F 32 is used. Furthermore, generally speaking, instead of theoperation panel installed in the recording/reproducing apparatus, aremote controller having the same function can carry out control;however, by invalidating an operation signal from the remote controller,just as invalidating an operation signal from the operation panel, it ispossible to obtain the same effect of preventing therecording/reproducing apparatus from malfunctioning because of theoperation signal supplied from the remote controller while thedata/command is transmitted or received between the control apparatusand the recording/reproducing apparatus.

Embodiment 4

FIG. 4 is a block diagram in accordance with a fourth embodiment of thepresent invention; in FIG. 4, the numeral 41 represents arecording/reproducing apparatus, the numeral 42 represents an IEEE1394Interface (hereinafter referred to as an I/F), the numeral 43 representsa processor, the numeral 44 represents a switching signal generationunit, the numeral 45 represents a binary switch, the numeral 46represents a binary signal, the numeral 47 represents a switchingsignal, and the numeral 48 represents a control signal. In FIG. 4, thesame portions as those of the recording/reproducing apparatus of FIG. 1are represented by the same numerals, and their descriptions areomitted.

In the recording/reproducing apparatus configured as described above,its operation will be described below.

In the transmission and reception of the data 6 and the command 8between the control apparatus 1 and the recording/reproducing apparatus41, the data 6 to be recorded is transmitted from the control apparatus1 to the recording/reproducing unit 3 via the I/F 42, and the command 8is transmitted to the processor 43 during transmission; the reproduceddata 6 is transmitted from the recording/reproducing unit 3 to thecontrol apparatus 1 via the I/F 42, and the response 7 to a specificcommand 8 required to be responded to the control apparatus 1 istransmitted in the same way from the processor 43 to the controlapparatus 1 via the I/F 42 during reception. Furthermore, the operationpanel 4 generates the operation signal 5 for determining the operationof the recording/reproducing unit 3, and the switching signal generationunit 44 generates the switching signal 47 for switching the operationsignal 5 to its valid or invalid state; the processor 43 outputs thecontrol signal 48 for controlling the recording/reproducing unit 3 onthe basis of the switching signal 47 to the recording/reproducing unit3; and the recording/reproducing unit 3 records the data 6 on arecording medium or reproduces the data 6 from the recording medium onthe basis of the control signal 48.

In the above-mentioned configuration, the binary switch 45 is a switchcapable of being turned ON and OFF externally. If the binary signal 46received from the binary switch 45 is ON, the switching signalgeneration unit 44 outputs the operation panel invalid signal forinvalidating the operation signal 5 generated at the operation panel 4as the switching signal 47 to the processor 43. And the processor 43invalidates the operation signal 5 on the basis of the switching signal47, and controls the recording/reproducing unit 3 on the basis of aspecific command 8 for controlling the recording/reproducing unit 3among the commands 8 received from the control apparatus 1 via the I/F42.

Therefore, even if the operation signal 5 generated at the operationpanel 4 during the transmission/reception of the data 6 and the command8 between the control apparatus 1 and the recording/reproducingapparatus 41 is transmitted to the processor 43, the processor 43controls the recording/reproducing unit 3 on the basis of the switchingsignal 47 generated by the switching signal generation unit 44, wherebythe recording/reproducing apparatus 41 can be prevented frommalfunctioning.

The present invention is applicable even when the above-mentionedcontrol apparatus 1 is an editing apparatus, and the present inventionis also applicable even when an interface other than the above-mentionedIEEE1394 I/F 42 is used. Furthermore, generally speaking, instead of theoperation panel installed in the recording/reproducing apparatus, aremote controller having the same function can carry out control;however, by invalidating an operation signal from the remote controller,just as invalidating an operation signal from the operation panel, it ispossible to obtain the same effect of preventing therecording/reproducing apparatus from malfunctioning because of theoperation signal supplied from the remote controller while thedata/command is transmitted or received between the control apparatusand the recording/reproducing apparatus. Furthermore, by the ON/OFFoperation of the switch, the switchable valid/invalid setting on theoperation panel can be made different depending on the function of theoperation panel. (For example, reproduction, rewinding, etc. may becarried out by the operation at the operation panel when the switch isON; however, if a recording medium ejection function is made inoperableat the operation panel regardless of the ON/OFF state of the switch oncean instruction is given from the control apparatus, it is possible toprevent such serious trouble as forcible ejection of an recording mediumduring data transmission.

Embodiment 5

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a data recording/reproducing apparatusin accordance with a fifth embodiment of the data recording apparatus ofthe present invention.

As shown in the figure, the numeral 101 represents a video signalconverter, the numeral 102 represents an audio signal converter, thenumeral 103 represents an auxiliary information processor, the numeral104 represents a conversion data input/output unit, the numeral 105represents a recorded/reproduced signal processor, the numeral 106represents a controller, the numeral 107 represents a first selector,the numeral 108 represents a second selector, the numeral 109 representsa head, the numeral 110 represents a recording medium, and the numeral111 represents a file manager.

In the above-mentioned configuration, the operation of the presentembodiment will be described next, and at the same time, embodiments ofthe file system information generation method and the file managementmethod of the present invention will also be described.

First, the video signal converter 101 converts an input video signal aspredetermined; at the same time, the audio signal converter 102 convertsan input audio signal as predetermined. In accordance with aninstruction input to the controller 106, the auxiliary informationprocessor 103 generates predetermined auxiliary information, and thesecond selector 108 is connected to side A; furthermore, by therecorded/reproduced signal processor 105, the converted video and audiosignals, and the auxiliary information to be input are formatted tosignals to be recorded while being switched by the first selector 107,and then recorded on the recording medium 110 by the head 109.Furthermore, to the conversion data input/output unit 104, the same typeof video signal as that subjected to the predetermined conversioncarried out by the video signal converter 101, the same type of audiosignal as that subjected to the predetermined conversion carried out bythe audio signal converter 102 and the auxiliary information are input,the second selector 108 is connected to side A; by therecorded/reproduced signal processor 105, the converted video and audiosignals, and the auxiliary information to be input are formatted tosignals to be recorded, and then recorded on the recording medium 110 bythe head 109. Such an instruction as recording/reproduction/search/stopis input to the controller 106; furthermore, in addition to setting forprocessing the video signal and the audio signal, instructions forgenerating auxiliary information, etc., the control of the entireapparatus is carried out.

Next, the file system information generation operation in the datarecording/reproducing apparatus in accordance with the presentembodiment will be described below.

First of all, it is necessary to check whether file system informationhas already been recorded or not in the video and audio signals and theauxiliary information recorded on the recording medium 110 by theabove-mentioned controller 106, the head 109 and the like. If recorded,it is not necessary to generate or renew the file system informationunless new data is recorded. Furthermore, if the file system informationhas already been recorded, the file manager 111 instructs the controller106 to reproduce the file system information. The reproduction of thefile system information will be described further below.

In other words, the power supply of the present apparatus is turned on,and a video tape used as the recording medium 110 is set in the presentapparatus, whereby a file system information search command is issuedfrom the controller 106. Consequently, the file manager 111 checks therecorded data on the recording medium 110, and judges whether the filesystem information has already been recorded or not. In this case, theabove-mentioned judgment is carried out by searching a recording-startflag 115 (see FIG. 6) specially intended for the file systeminformation, which is described later. If it is judged that no filesystem information has not been recorded as the result of the judgment,a reproduction execution instruction is issued, and the next operationproceeds.

In other words, the reproduction execution instruction is issued, and asignal reproduced from the recording medium 110 by the head 109 isprocessed by the recorded/reproduced signal processor 105; data is inputto the video signal converter 101, the audio signal converter 102 andthe auxiliary information processor 103 through the second selector 108and the first selector 107; the video-signal converter 101, the audiosignal converter 102 and the auxiliary information processor 103inversely convert the video signal, the audio signal and the auxiliaryinformation, respectively, thereby reproducing and outputting theoriginal data. At this time, the second selector 108 can output itsinput signal to the video signal converter 101, the audio signalconverter 102 and the auxiliary information processor 103, and at thesame time, can completely output the signal to the conversion datainput/output unit 104, and the conversion data input/output unit 104 canoutput this signal from the second selector 108 to an external device.

Then, the above-mentioned output signal is input to the file manager 111and the conversion data input/output unit 104 at the same time. The filemanager 111 divides the recorded signal by using the above-mentionedauxiliary information, generates individual file information for eachdivided signal to form files. In addition, at the file manager 111,cassette information related to the entire recording medium isgenerated, these individual file information pieces are collected asfile system information, the second selector 108 is switched to side B,the file system information is formatted by the recorded/reproducedsignal processor 105 into a signal to be recorded, and recorded on therecording medium 110. The details of the method of dividing the recordedsignal by using the auxiliary information will be described in seventhand eighth embodiments referring to FIGS. 9 and 10.

The conversion data input/output unit 104 can also be configured so asto transmit instructions given to the data recording apparatus as wellas various signals.

The file system information is generated from the recorded medium, andan example of a state of the recorded medium on which the file systeminformation is recorded is shown in FIG. 6. Furthermore, when the filesystem information is begun to be recorded, the recording-start flag 115specially intended for the file system information is also recorded atthe same time. The recording-start flag 115 may be approximateinformation reproducible during high-speed search or informationindicating a one point reproducible only during ordinary reproduction,or both of these. Recording is carried out while a time code indicatinga recording date and time is given to each predetermined unit of thevideo signal. The predetermined unit of the video signal is hereinminute in FIG. 6; although the unit may be second, it is generally aframe/field unit.

An example of generated individual file information/cassette informationis shown in FIG. 7. The cassette ID and the cassette label areinformation for identifying a cassette; even if they are not set, noproblem occurs.

A file system information recording position is aposition wherein therecording of this file system information started; although a time codeis indicated herein, if numbers (although the numbers are desired to besequential, errors may occur) indicating the physical positions of therecording medium from the beginning have been added and recorded, thenumbers can also be used.

The number of recorded files should only be information indicating theamount of individual file information. For example, if the size of thecassette information is known, it is possible to count files by usingthe file manager 111. In addition, only when additional recording iscarried out, deletion operation can be carried out by placing a mark orthe like indicating impossible reference to the individual fileinformation, although data is actually present on the recording medium.In this case, as an item of the number of recorded files, the number offiles capable of being referenced externally, the number of filedactually recorded or both information can be used.

It is not necessary to set the length of the tape; however, if it isset, when an attempt is made to externally record a file later, the filemanager 111 can easily check its size and confirm whether the recordingcapacity is sufficient or not.

In addition, it is not necessary to set log information; however, thisis an area capable of recording what kind of process has been carriedout or what kind of trouble has been caused.

Each file requires a name, a file size and a recording start position.The file manager 111 is supposed to generate these on the basis of thetime code. A date is used as a directory name, and a time is used as afile name in this example; however an appropriate configuration can betaken.

As the recording start position, information capable of easily locatingthe head of this file is necessary. Although the time code is usedherein, designation is possible by using a number indicating a physicalposition from the beginning of a recording medium or by using the numberof order of the recording-start flag position from the beginning.

The file size is herein indicated by time information; however, thenumber of bytes or the number of tracks can be used without causingproblems.

When only one type of recorded data is present, it is not necessary toset the type of recorded data; however, when plural types of recordeddata are present, and if they cannot be identified, their contentscannot be confirmed.

By recording this kind of file system information, data to be recordedcan be filed and controlled. Therefore, for example, when a cassettewith file system information recorded in this way is attempted to bereproduced after it is ejected once, whether file system information hasbeen recorded or not is first checked by the file manager 111 asdescribed above. And, since the file system information has already beenrecorded in this case, the file system information is reproduced first,and indicated on a predetermined display screen; by watching it, theuser can easily confirm the content of data recorded on the recordingmedium. Furthermore, processes such as dubbing, editing, deletion,division and the like of the recorded data can also be carried outeasily by indicating a file as a unit.

In the present embodiment, file system information is generated andrecorded while a recording medium on which recording is carried out bythis data recording/reproducing apparatus or another data recordingapparatus having a function similar thereto is being reproduced;however, without being limited to this, it is possible to generate filesystem information while recording and to continuously record the filesystem information after the end of the recording, for example.

Embodiment 6

Next, FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a data recording/reproducingapparatus in accordance with a sixth embodiment of the presentinvention; the configuration of the present embodiment will be describedreferring to the figure.

In the figure, the video signal converter 101, the audio signalconverter 102, the auxiliary information processor 103, the conversiondata input/output unit 104, the recorded/reproduced signal processor105, the controller 106, the first selector 107, the second selector108, the head 109 and the recording medium 110 are the same as those ofthe first embodiment; the numeral 112 represents a file manager, thenumeral 113 represents anadditional recording midium, and the additionalrecording midium 113 is supposed to be installed in a housingaccommodating the recording medium 110.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described, and atthe same time, embodiments of the file system information generationmethod and the file management method will also be described.

In other words, the operation such as recording or reproduction is thesame as in the fifth embodiment; when file system information isrecorded on the recording medium 110, information for indicating thedata recording end position or indicating the file system informationrecording start position is recorded on the additional recording midium113 so that its recorded position can be found easily. It is alsopossible to record part of file system information on the additionalrecording midium 113.

By recording file system information on the additional recording midium113 in this way, after this cassette is ejected once, and reproductionis attempted again, it is possible to easily search the file systeminformation on the recording medium (tape) 110 (or it is not necessaryto carry out search); therefore, it is possible to quickly confirm thecontents of the cassette.

Even in the present embodiment, it is possible that file systeminformation is generated while a recording medium on which recording iscarried out by this data recording/reproducing apparatus or another datarecording apparatus having a function similar thereto is beingreproduced, and the file system information is recorded after thereproduction; it is also possible that the file system information isgenerated during recording, and after the end of the recording, the filesystem information is recorded continuously.

Embodiment 7

Next, a seventh embodiment of the present embodiment will be describedreferring to FIG. 9, etc.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an example of the configuration of the filemanager 111 (see FIG. 5) or 112 (see FIG. 8) in accordance with thepresent embodiment. In the present embodiment, as described above, thedetails of an example of a method of dividing a recorded signal by usingauxiliary information will be detailed.

In the figure, the numeral 121 represents an cassette informationgenerator, the numeral 122 represents an individual file informationgenerator, the numeral 123 represents a file system informationselector, and the numeral 124 represents a recording-start flagdetector.

First, the recording-start flag detector 124 extracts a recording-startflag storage portion from input data input, and judges whether therecording-start flag is in the ON state or not; if it is ON, a signalfor instructing to divide the recorded data is output to the individualfile information generator 122. The individual file informationgenerator 122 divides the recorded data on the basis of the signal,generates predetermined file system information, and outputs filequantity information to the cassette information generator 121. Thecassette information generator 121 generates predetermined informationbeginning with the file quantity information, and detects the last dataat present, thereby determining the recording start position of the filesystem information. The file system information selector 123 selects thecassette information and the individual file information and outputsthem when the data recording apparatus is controlled in a state ofrecording the file system information.

Furthermore, the individual file information generator 122 can select anappropriate display screen and can carry out addition to the file systeminformation. As the appropriate display screen, the first display screenor a display screen as designated by external input during reproductionfor example can be used.

In this way, the file system information can be generated, and data tobe recorded can be filed and controlled, whereby various processes canbe carried out easily. Moreover, when data on the display screen is usedas file system information, the content of the data can be confirmed byvideo, thereby attaining easy confirmation.

Embodiment 8

Next, an eighth embodiment in accordance with the present embodimentwill be described referring to FIGS. 10(a), (b), etc.

FIG. 10(a) is a block diagram of another example of the configuration ofthe file manager 111 or 112 in accordance with the present embodiment.In the present embodiment, as described above, another example of amethod of dividing a recorded signal by using auxiliary information willbe detailed.

In the figure, the cassette information generator 121, the individualfile information generator 122 and the file system information selector123 are the same as those of the seventh embodiment, and the numeral 125represents a time code discontinuity detector. FIG. 10(b) is aviewshowing the block configuration of the time code discontinuity detector125, the numeral 126 represents a time code extractor, the numeral 127represents a previous value retainer, and the numeral 128 represents acomparator.

The cassette information generator 121, the individual file informationgenerator 122 and the file system information selector 123 operate inthe same way as those of the third embodiment. The time codediscontinuity detector 125 first extracts a time code storing portionfrom data input from the time code extractor 126, and moves a valueobtained one unit time ago to the previous value retainer 127. The valueobtained one unit time ago is compared with the current input value bythe comparator 128; if the continuity of the time code is notmaintained, a signal for instructing to divide recorded data is outputto the individual file information generator 122.

In this way, the file system information can be generated, and data tobe recorded can be filed and controlled, whereby various processes canbe carried out easily just as in the case of the seventh embodiment.Furthermore, it is possible to carry out detection more accurately bycombining the seventh embodiment with the eighth embodiment.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, it is described that various effectscan be obtained by introducing the file managers 111 and 112 into aconventional data recording apparatus. However, when new data isadditionally recorded by using the conventional data recording apparatuson a recording medium on which file system information is generated andrecorded as described in the above-mentioned embodiment, it is supposedthat invalid data has been recorded in this file system information;this may cause trouble of overwriting and deleting part of the filesystem information having been recorded once.

An embodiment in view of measures for preventing this trouble will bedescribed next.

Embodiment 9

Next, a ninth embodiment in accordance with the present invention willbe described referring to FIG. 11, etc.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of another example of the configuration ofthe file manager 112 in accordance with the present embodiment. Thisfile manager 112 is applicable to the data recording/reproducingapparatus described in FIG. 8.

In the figure, the cassette information generator 121, the individualfile information generator 122 and the file system information selector123 are the same as those of the seventh embodiment; a recording-startinformation detector represented by the numeral 129 is a block havingsuch a function as that described in the seventh or eighth embodiment.The numeral 130 represents an additional recording midium informationgenerator.

By using auxiliary information prepared in a conventional data recordingapparatus, the additional recording midium information generator 130 isused to control areas in which data and file system information arerecorded. The first recording means of the present invention is a meansincluding the recorded/reproduced signal processor 105, the head 109,etc. In addition, the second recording means of the present invention isa means included in the additional recording midium informationgenerator 130.

Among the information prepared as auxiliary information, information(title end) indicating the end position of a program and information(chapter) indicating the configuration of the recorded program can beused.

FIG. 12(a) first shows a condition wherein file system information A isrecorded in data having already been recorded, and information (titleend) indicating the end position of a program indicates the positionwherein data recording is ended. After this recording, if additionalrecording is carried out by a conventional apparatus not conforming tothe file system information in accordance with the present embodiment,the file system information A is not recognized as shown in FIG. 12 (b),data is recorded from the information (title end) indicating the endposition of the program, the file system information A is deletedcompletely, and filed data having already been recorded becomes anunfiled condition. As shown in FIG. 12(c), by recording file systeminformation B having the data having already been recorded and theappend-recorded data, a normal condition can be restored. In this case,file system information is required to be re-created by carrying outfiling again; however no trouble is caused.

Next, FIG. 13(a) first shows a condition wherein the file systeminformation A is recorded in data having already been recorded. The samefile system information A is recorded twice, and the information (titleend) indicating the end position of the program is set so as to indicatethe recording end position of the entry of first file system informationand then recorded. In other words, in this case, the file systeminformation A is recorded in two adjacent areas; for example, an addressindicating the position between the two areas is recorded at thepredetermined position of the tape 110 or on the additional recordingmidium 113. After recording is carried out as described above, ifadditional recording is carried out by a conventional apparatus notconforming to the file system information, the file system information Arecorded at the second time is not recognized as shown in FIG. 13(b),data is recorded from the information (title end) indicating the endposition of the program, and the file system information A recorded atthe second time is deleted completely. In this condition, an abnormalcondition can be recognized because two pieces of the file systeminformation A are not present, and file restructuring can be carried outwithout problems hereafter because the file system information A itselfregarding filed data having already been recorded remains. By recordingthe file system information B having the data having already beenrecorded and the append-recorded data as shown in FIG. 13(c), the normalcondition can be restored.

FIG. 14(a) is a condition wherein the file system information A isrecorded in data having already been recorded. Data and the file systeminformation A are recorded as different chapters, and the information(title end) indicating the end position of the program is set so as toindicate the end position of the recording position of the file systeminformation A and then recorded. Furthermore, as auxiliary information,information regarding the positions wherein the respective chapters arerecorded is also recorded. The type of data to be recorded at eachchapter may be recorded as auxiliary information. After recording iscarried out as described above, if additional recording is carried outby a conventional apparatus not conforming to the file systeminformation, as shown in FIG. 14(b), a condition occurs wherein therecording end position indicating the end position of the program doesnot coincide with the end position of the last chapter, or a conditionoccurs wherein the last chapter is not file system information. Thereby,an abnormal condition can be recognized, and file restructuring can becarried out without problems hereafter because the file systeminformation A itself regarding filed data having already been recordedremains. By recording the file system information B having the datahaving already been recorded and the append-recorded data as shown inFIG. 14(c), and by recording the information (title end) indicating theend position of the program and the information regarding the chaptersas auxiliary information, the normal condition can be restored.

With the above-mentioned configuration, compatibility with aconventional data recording apparatus can be attained.

The terms of the cassette information and individual file informationare just taken as examples, and even when other information is used, thepresent invention is applicable. Furthermore, in the above-mentionedembodiment, in the case when generated file system information isrepeatedly recorded in plural areas after a position wherein therecording of the next data is ended, an example of recording the samefile system information at two positions is described; however, withoutlimited to this, recording can be carried out at three or more positionsas a matter of course. Moreover, in that case, recording start positioninformation for starting the recording of the next data should only beinformation indicating one of positions among the plural areas thereof.

Embodiment 10

FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing a data control apparatus 151 and adata recording/reproducing apparatus 156 in accordance with a tenthembodiment of the present invention; the numeral 152 represents a filemanager, the numeral 153 represents a command/status processor, thenumeral 154 represents a file data processor, the numeral 155 representsthe input/output unit of the data control apparatus, the numeral 127represents the input/output unit of the data recording/reproducingapparatus, the numeral 158 represents a controller, the numeral 159represents a data processor, and the numeral 160 represents a recordingmedium.

First, the data control apparatus 151 transmits commands for recordingand reproducing data, commands for making inquiries about statuses, andother commands, receives transmitted statuses, transmits data to berecorded, and receives reproduced data.

The file manager 152 controls files recorded on the recording medium 160by using medium information, i.e., information regarding the informationmedium 160, and the file system information for each file recorded-onthe recording medium 160.

The command/status processor 153 generates commands to be transmitted tothe data recording/reproducing apparatus 156 in accordance with filereading/writing and other instructions from the file manager 152, andprocesses received statuses as necessary.

The file data processor 154 treats actual file data.

In order to carry out transmission and reception of commands/statusesand transmission and reception of data, the input/output unit 155carries out format conversion inside the data control apparatus 151 andon the transmission line connected to the data recording/reproducingapparatus 156.

In accordance with the commands transmitted from the data controlapparatus 151, the data recording/reproducing apparatus 156 receivestransmitted data, transmits recorded and reproduced data, carries outstatus notification, and the like. In actual practice, the input/outputunit 127 carries out transmission and reception, interprets transmittedcommands, and gives instructions for data recording/reproducing and thelike in accordance with the commands. Furthermore, in the case when astatus is requested, a predetermined process is carried out to obtainthe information. The controller 158 carries out the operation control ofa mechanism for carrying out recording to the recording medium 160 orcarrying out reproduction from the recording medium in accordance withthe instructions from the input/output unit 127. When recordingoperation is instructed, the data processor 159 carries out apredetermined process such as error correction coding/modulation or thelike for data to be input from the input/output unit 127, thereby tocarry out conversion to a format recordable on the recording medium 160.In addition, when reproduction operation is instructed, a process fortaking out original data from the reproduced signal is carried out.

In the case when the recording medium is a tape for example, as shown inFIG. 16, file system information (medium information regarding therecording medium 160 and file system information for each file recordedon the recording medium 160) can be recorded after a file is recorded.The file manager 152 of the data control apparatus 151 watches real-timecharacteristic identification information for indicating whether datahas a real-time characteristic or not, that is, one of file systeminformation pieces of the file system information provided for eachfile, and transmits instructions capable of ensuring the real-timecharacteristic in the entire system to each portion, if the real-timecharacteristic is requested for the data of the file.

In addition, when there are various rates capable of being treated bythe system, the real-time characteristic of the data can be ensured bycontrolling information indicating the rate itself for each file.

For this purpose, the file manager 152 of the data control apparatus 151is required to have a function to make an inquiry about a rateapplicable to each peripheral portion and to judge whether they can beprocessed entirely or not, and the each of the peripheral portions isrequired to have a function applicable to the above-mentioned inquiry.

Furthermore, in the case when the recording medium 160 is secured to thedatarecording/reproducing apparatus 156 just as a hard disk, anapplicable rate is a value inherent in each data recording/reproducingapparatus 156; however, in the case of a removable medium, both the datacontrol apparatus 151 and the data recording/reproducing apparatus 156are required to have a function applicable to the inquiry for a rateapplicable to the recording medium 160.

Some of actual data have a constant rate at all times, but some havevariable rates. In the case of such data, it is necessary to carry outcontrol at the maximum rate; if file system information is applicable toinformation regarding the maximum rate, such a function can be ensured.

In the case when information indicating a time required to transmit datain real time is included in the file system information, the amount ofcapacity of each file can be known easily. This is because, whentreating data having various rates, a dummy is sometimes required to berecorded to ensure the real-time characteristic depending on the type ofthe recording medium, particularly when the recording medium is a tape.To judge whether a capacity capable of recording one data file isavailable or not, a capacity including the dummy is required, instead ofthe net amount of the number of bytes. It is possible to properly judgethe capacity of the dummy added to the net information on the basis ofinformation regarding the rate and time for recording/reproducing by thedata recording apparatus 156.

FIG. 17 shows-an example of medium information and file systeminformation prepared for each file. First, as the medium information,contents as shown in FIG. 17 can be designated. When it is assumedherein that the amount of data recorded on one track is constant andthat a reference transfer rate is 300 tracks/second, a datarecording/reproducing apparatus applicable to multiples or 1/multiplesthereof is taken as an example.

By recording not only the number of bytes but also the number of tracks(file time) as a file size of each file, the amount of capacity beingused can be clarified, and the recording medium can be controlled. Inother words, it is possible to know a range where writing is carriedout. In particular, in the case of the fourth and fifth files, fileshaving variable transfer rates, wherein the number of tracks requiredfor actual recording is not known from only the file size represented bythe number of bytes, can also be treated.

Furthermore, in the case of files having variable transfer rates just asthe fourth and fifth files, if the transfer rate momentarily exceeds atransfer rate treatable by each apparatus, the real-time characteristiccannot be maintained; therefore, by recording information having themaximum rate, such trouble can be prevented.

By recording the transfer rate, the number of tracks (file time) andtime for transfer (reproduction time when reproduction of a video datafile is instructed) can be clarified; furthermore, by the data controlapparatus and the data recording/reproducing apparatus, the transferrate is maintained, whereby the real-time characteristic of data can bemaintained.

The recording start position is herein described as the number of orderof a track from the beginning, from which recording is started.

By recording this kind of file system information, data having thereal-time characteristic such as video and audio data can be treated.Furthermore, even data having variable transfer rates can be treated byconsidering the difference between the transfer rate and the recordingrate.

The present invention is applicable even when the data control apparatus151 controls a plurality of data recording/reproducing apparatus 156.Furthermore, files can be copied/moved by instructing a datarecording/reproducing apparatus 156 a to carry out recording and byinstructing a data recording/reproducing apparatus 156 b to carry outreproduction at the same time. At this time, the file manager 152 canhave a function to refer to a rate applicable to each data reproducingapparatus and to judge whether this kind of operation is possible ornot.

The data recording/reproducing apparatus 156 a and the datarecording/reproducing apparatus 156 b may have the same specifications,or may have different specifications having the same function.

Embodiment 11

The present invention can also be applied as it is even when the datacontrol apparatus 151 and the data recording/reproducing apparatus 156are integrated into one apparatus. This corresponds to an eleventhembodiment of the present invention, and its block diagram is shown inFIG. 18. In this case, it is possible to have a configuration whereinthe data control apparatus 151 and the data recording/reproducingapparatus 156 a are integrated into one apparatus and connected to thedata recording/reproducing apparatus 156 b. In this case, theinput/output unit 161 is supposed to have the same function as thefunction of the input/output unit 155 combined with the function of theinput/output unit 157.

Herein, the file time is represented by the number of tracks; however,even when the number of frames, time in terms of second or other unit isused, the same effect can be obtained. When recording is carried outsequentially on a tape medium, file time can be obtained by using acombination of a recording start position and a recording end position,instead of using a combination of the recording start position and thenumber of tracks; and the same effect as that of the present inventioncan be obtained.

Furthermore, although the transfer rate is set at 1 for 300 tracks/secand indicated by a ratio with respect to this value, the same effect canbe obtained regardless of any representation. Although the recordingstart position is represented by, so to speak, an absolute address byusing the number of tracks counted from the beginning of the tape, thesame effect can also be obtained regardless of any representation. Thekind of recorded data is not limited to the VCR recording format, butany kinds of files can be treated.

Embodiment 12

FIG. 19 shows a block diagram in accordance with a twelfth embodiment;in FIG. 19, the numeral 171 represents an input unit, the numeral 172represents a volume entry generator, the numeral 173 represents adirectory entry generator, the numeral 174 represents a file entrygenerator, the numeral 175 represents a file system information renewalunit, the numeral 176 represents a recording/reproducing apparatus, thenumeral 177 represents a first recording medium, and the numeral 178represents a first recording medium file system information output unit;and a file system information generation apparatus comprises the volumeentry generator 172, the directory entry generator 173 and the fileentry generator 174. It is supposed that portions represented by thesame numerals have the same configurations and functions. The filesystem information generation apparatus in accordance with the presentembodiment generates entries used as information for controlling a file,a directory and a volume, and the entries are referred to as a fileentry and a directory entry and a volume entry, respectively. All thefile entry, directory entry and volume entry related to therecording/reproducing apparatus 176 (or a recording medium retained bythe recording/reproducing apparatus 176) are linked to form file systeminformation.

Regarding the file system information generation apparatus configured asdescribed above, its operation will be described below.

It is supposed that file data (hereinafter referred to as file A) istransferred from the first recording medium 177 to the file systeminformation generator 175. The first recording medium is assumed to bean existing recording medium, such as a hard disk, a floppy disk, aCD-ROM or the like. Furthermore, data transfer from the first recordingmedium 177 to the file system information renewal unit 175 is to subjectthe file A recorded on the first recording medium 177 to a predeterminedconversion by using the input unit 171 and to move (hereinafter referredto as move) it to the recording/reproducing apparatus 176 (or arecording medium retained in the recording/reproducing apparatus 176),or to subject the file A recorded on the first recording medium 177 to apredetermined conversion by using the input unit 171 and to copy(hereinafter referred to as copy) it to the recording/reproducingapparatus 176 (or a recording medium retained by therecording/reproducing apparatus 176), for example. In the case of move,the file A is deleted from the first recording medium 177 after the fileA is recorded by the recording/reproducing apparatus 176.

For example, in order to control data to be recorded on a home-usedigital VCR “DV” by using file system information generated by thepresent embodiment, the file system information is required to berecorded on the DV tape. By using such a method as disclosed in JapanesePatent Application No. Hei 9-67633, data of 64 bytes can be recordedwith a sync block, i.e., the minimum recording unit, used as a physicalsector. Therefore, by dividing each entry in units of 64 bytes and byassigning to one or more sectors, entries used as logical recordingunits can be matched with sectors used as physical recording units,whereby an information restoration process and the like can be carriedout easily if an error occurs.

The recording medium retained by the recording/reproducing apparatus 176is herein referred to as a second recording medium. In addition, thesecond recording medium may have such anadditional recording midium asMIC (Memory In Cassette) of the DV, for example.

File file system information regarding the file A is input from thefirst recording medium file system information output unit 178 to theinput unit 171. The information regarding the file A input to the inputunit 171 is input to the volume entry generator 172, the directory entrygenerator 173 and the file entry generator 174; and a file entryregarding the file A recorded by the recording/reproducing apparatus176, a directory entry regarding a directory to which the file A isbelong as necessary or a volume entry as necessary is generated.Alternatively, for example, correction of a volume name/a directoryname/a file name is also processed by the volume entry generator 172,the directory entry generator 173 and the file entry generator 174.

The file recorded by the second recording medium has a hierarchicalstructure of a volume, a root directory, directories and files; and onlyone root directory forming the root of directories is present in onevolume. Furthermore, files or directories at the (n+1)th hierarchicallevel can be present under a directory at the nth hierarchical level.Files or directories are not always required to be present under adirectory.

The volume entry generator 172 generates such information as that shownin FIG. 20(a). A recording medium ID for identifying the secondrecording medium, a volume name indicating the name of a volume used asthe maximum unit of data to be recorded on the second recording medium,the newest renewal time information used as the newest time when thedata of the second recording medium is renewed (including addition),data recording position information used as the information of aposition wherein file system information is recorded on the secondrecording medium (when the next data is recorded, file systeminformation recorded previously can be rewritten and deleted by startingrecording from here), and file system information unassigned areainformation indicating unassigned areas in file system information aregenerated.

Regarding the data recording position information and the file systeminformation unassigned area information, the volume entry generator 172generates only the initial value to be used when a volume is set atfirst; and renewal by recording files and directories is carried out bythe file system information renewal unit 175.

As information other than those described above, when this kind of entryinformation is improved for example, version information is used tocontrol the version of its format. As for recording capacityinformation, in the case when the recording medium is a tape, theremaining amount of the recording medium can be calculated by setting avalue indicating the length of the tape. As for log information, errorgeneration condition and tape usage condition/environment are retainedas information, whereby quality control for securely reading data fromthe recording medium can be attained.

In the case when a second recording medium has anadditional recordingmidium, part of data recorded on the additional recording midium is usedas auxiliary information. In the case of the MIC (Memory In Cassette) ofthe DV, three bits of APM (Application ID on MIC), five bits of BCID(Basic Cassette ID), five bytes of Cassette ID Pack, five bytes of TapeLength Pack and five bytes of Title End Pack are assigned at the first16 bytes of this memory. By these, information regarding the capacity ofthis memory and the tape recording end position can be obtained. In thecase when there L is an apparatus capable of treating the additionalrecording midium and an apparatus incapable of treating it, if recordingis carried out once by using the apparatus capable of treating theadditional recording midium and recording is then carried out by usingthe apparatus incapable of treating the additional recording midium, adifference is caused between the content of the tape and the content ofthe additional recording midium for controlling it. When 16-byteinformation to be recorded at the head of the above-mentioned MIC is setat the volume entry, the additional recording midium is not renewed ifrecording is carried out by using the apparatus incapable of treatingthe additional recording midium; however, the auxiliary information inthe volume entry is set as a value to be essentially recorded on theadditional recording midium, whereby the difference can be confirmed bycomparing both information again by using the apparatus incapable oftreating the additional recording midium.

The directory generator 173 generates directory names, directoryattribute information, the newest renewal time information ofdirectories, and continuity flags indicating whether the directory entryinformation ends at this sector or continues to other sectors as shownin FIG. 20(b). By setting a continuity flag in each sector, applicationto a long directory name for example can be carried out efficiently.

The file entry generator 174 generates file names, a file attributeinformation, the newest renewal time information of files, file sizes,file recording position information on the second recording medium, andcontinuity flags indicating whether the file entry ends at this sectoror continues to other sectors, as shown in FIG. 20(c). By setting acontinuity flag in each sector, application to a long file name forexample can be carried out efficiently.

As information other than those described above, recording formatinformation is generated. In the case of the DV for example, althoughthe basic recording format onto a tape is identical; however, theportion of data has compression/recording formats inherent to each ofthe video data of SD (NTSC and PAL systems), video data for low-raterecording of SD, video data of HD (HiVision), video data of MPEG and thelike; in the case when video data recorded by the DV system is used as afile as it is, information regarding this recording format is requiredin order to know what kind of data this file has; therefore, a signalreferred to as STYPE, 50/60 bit stipulated as the recording format ofthe DV may be used as recording format information.

Furthermore, in the case of a video recording apparatus such as a DV forexample, recording in accordance with the standard track width may bemixed with recording in accordance with a narrow track width forlong-time recording; therefore the recording density information isinformation required to control recording capacities and recordingpositions.

File copyright information indicates the copyright of the data of thisfile. As a value, information such as CGMS (Copy Generation ManagementSystem) can be used. In the CGMS, two-bit data is used; 11 representscopy prohibition, 10 represents copy OK only once, and 00 representsfree copying. Defining for files is possible, and defining for each ofvideo/audio is also possible.

By using the same information as those used for ordinary HDDs andCD-ROMs for example as directory attribute information and fileattribute information, it is possible to indicate whether theinformation is a read-only file, a hidden file, a system file or adirectory by using ON/OFF at each bit, and identification between thefile entry and the directory entry can be carried out simultaneously.(If the attribute information has no directory bit, a file/directoryidentification flat is required for each entry.)

After adding new entries, the file system information renewal unit 175renews the content entry ID and the next entry ID of the directoryentry, the next entry ID of the file entry, and the data recordingposition information of the volume entry, from the entries generated bythe volume entry generator 172, the directory entry generator 173 andthe file entry generator 174.

The content entry ID of the directory entry selects either a filebelonging to the directory or the directory (content), and sets theentry ID of the selected content. If there is no content, a valueindicating no content is set. As this value, the entry ID of the volumeentry for example can be used. Other than the value, a value exceedingthe maximum value capable of being taken as the entry ID can be set, ora flag indicating the presence or absence of a content can be setseparately.

As for the next entry ID of the directory entry, a directory or filebelonging to the directory (parent directory) to which this directorybelong is selected, and the entry ID of the entry of the selected one isset. At the time of the selection, it is supposed that the selection iscarried out not to select a directory or file designated by the contententry ID of a parent directory entry, or a directory or file designatedby the next entry ID of the entry of a file of directory alreadybelonging to the same parent directory, whereby the same file ordirectory is not designated two or more times. When there is no morefile or directory belonging to the parent directory, the next entry IDof the content entry selected last is set as a value indicating thatthere is no file or directory. As this value, the entry ID of the volumeentry for example can be used. Other than the value, a value exceedingthe maximum value capable of being taken as the entry ID can be set, ora flag indicating the presence or absence of a content can be setseparately, or a flag indicating its presence or absence can also be setseparately. The entry ID of the file entry can be set just as theabove-mentioned directory entry.

Furthermore, the address of a sector can be used as an entry ID. Sinceeach entry is assigned at one or more sectors, when entries are arrangedin order, their locations cannot be determined immediately; however,since the addresses of the sectors are absolute positions, the casetteinformation can be analyzed easily.

When these entries are registered in the file system information, it ispossible to place a volume entry at the head at first, and directory andfile entries can be placed thereafter; whereby sector addresses can alsobe used for the file system information unassigned area information.With this arrangement, the volume entry, being present as only one inthe file system information, is placed at the same position at alltimes, and the file system information can be analyzed easily.Furthermore, since the root directory located at the top of thedirectory/file hierarchical structure is used as a reference, if thedirectory entry (hereinafter referred to as a root entry) of the rootdirectory is registered at the position next to the volume entry in thefile system information, the file system information can be analyzedeasily.

In the case when a DV is used for example, data recording positioninformation can be represented by using absolute addresses (AbsoluteTrack no.) set at each track. In other words, at the time of recording,by confirming how far recording has been carried out, and by using thisas data recording position information, its absolute address should onlybe accessed directly when append recording is attempted next, whereby itis not necessary to carry out extra processing.

Methods of renewing, adding and deleting entries in the file systeminformation by using entries are described below. FIG. 21 is a viewshowing a hierarchical structure of a volume, directories and files, andFIG. 22 shows the entries of the volume, directories and filesstructured as shown in FIG. 21. In FIG. 21, ROOT represents a rootdirectory, VOLUMEX represents a volumename, DIR1, DIR2, DIR3, SUB11,SUB12, SUB13, SUB31, SUB111 and SUB131 represent directory names, andFILE14, FILE112, FILE113 and FILE132 represent file names. In FIG. 22,for the sake of explanation, the volume name and file system informationunassigned position information among the information constituting thevolume entry are indicated; directory names, valid flags, content entryIDs and next entry IDs among the information constituting directoryentries are indicated; and file names, valid flags and next entry IDsamong information constituting file entries are indicated. Y in thevalid flag column indicates that the directory or file indicated by theentry is valid.

In FIG. 22, in directories DIR2, SUB12, SUB31 and SUB111, the contententry ID is NF. This means that these directories do not havedirectories or files just as the configuration shown in FIG. 21.Furthermore, SUB11, SUB12, SUB13 and FILE14 are present under DIR1; thenext entry ID of SUB11 is the entry ID of SUB12, that is, 6; the nextentry ID of the SUB12 subsequent thereto is the entry ID of SUB13, thatis, 7; the next entry ID of the SUB13 subsequent thereto is the entry IDof FILE14, that is, 11; the next entry ID of FILE14 subsequent theretois NF indicating that there is no subsequent file or directory. Sincethe file name and volume name are not so long as that their entriesoccupy two or more sectors, one entry is assigned herein in one sector.

Herein, a hierarchical structure wherein file A is copied under DIR1 isshown in FIG. 23, and entries in this case are shown in FIG. 24.

In the case when the file A is added under DIR1 as shown in FIG. 23 andFIG. 24, the next entry ID of FILE14 is changed from NF to the entry IDof the file A, that is, 15, and the next entry ID of the file A becomesNF. Furthermore, since the number of file entries has increased by one,the file system information unassigned position information of thevolume entry is renewed from 15 to 16.

Next, a method of renewing the file system information at the time whena directory or a file in the file system information is deleted isdescribed. When FILE112 shown in FIG. 21 is deleted, the file attributeof FILE112 is changed from Y to M which indicates that the file isinvalid; since FILE112 becomes invalid, the next entry ID of SUB111which is a directory located under SUB11 and at the same hierarchicallevel as that of FILE112 is changed from the entry ID of FILE112, i.e.,12 to the entry ID of FILE113, i.e., 13. Furthermore, when SUB131 andFILE132 are deleted, the directory attribute of SUB131 and the fileattribute of FILE132 are set at M, and the content entry ID of SUB13,that is, a directory located thereabove is set at NF.

By generating file system information as described above, file formatdata can be treated.

In the present embodiment, it is possible to limit the amount of thefile system information to a constant amount. By the limiting, the upperlimit of the file system information on the second recording medium canbe limited. Furthermore, access can be quickened when all of file systeminformation are read at one time and renewed.

Although the capacity of one sector is set at 64 bytes in the presentembodiment, the present invention is applicable to any capacity.Although file system information and file A renewed by file movement orthe like is recorded in the recording/reproducing apparatus 176, it issufficient that the renewed file system information should only berecorded on the second recording medium until the second recordingmedium is taken out of the recording/reproducing apparatus 176.

Entry examples are shown in FIG. 20; however, these are only examples;all of information are not necessarily required, and other informationcan be incorporated. Furthermore, the amounts of bytes/bits required torepresent the information are also examples; and the same effect can beobtained by using other values. Although a sector address is used as anentry ID, the present invention is applicable even when other values areused.

Embodiment 13

A thirteenth embodiment in accordance with the present invention isshown in FIG. 25 as a block diagram; in FIG. 25, the numeral 181represents a file system information loading unit, the numeral 182represents a file system information analyzer, and the numeral 183represents a display apparatus. Hereinafter, it is supposed that theportions represented by the same numerals have the same configurationand function. Its operation will be described below.

In the recording medium inside the recording/reproducing apparatus 176,areas for recording file system information are stipulated. FIG. 26shows an example of a tape wherein recording is carried out by therecording/reproducing apparatus 176 in accordance with the presentinvention. In FIG. 26, the numerals 191 and 192 represent a file systeminformation recording area; and the numerals 193 and 194 represent anactual data recording area, i.e., a file data recording area. Herein,among the file system information recording area, the area 191 is anarea wherein file system information has already been recorded, and thearea 192 is an unassigned file system information recording area whereinfile system information is not yet recorded. The area 193 is an areawherein file data has already been recorded, and the area 194 is anunassigned file data recording area wherein file data is not yetrecorded.

First, a signal obtained by reproducing the area 191 by therecording/reproducing apparatus 176 is input to the file systeminformation loading unit 181, the file system information loading unit181 converts its input signal into the format of the file systeminformation, and outputs to the file system information analyzer 182.The volume entry, directory entries and file entries constituting thefile system information are assumed to be the same as those indicatedbefore (the twelfth embodiment). In other words, they are assumed tohave the configurations shown in FIGS. 20, 21 and 22.

Since sectors have a fixed length, the file system information analyzer182 first carries out separation in sector units, extracts/checks theircontinuity flags, and carries out division in entry units. The volumeentry is analyzed to extract a recording medium ID, a volume name,auxiliary information which is part of data of the additional recordingmidium of the recording medium, the newest renewal time information ofthe recording medium, data recording position information indicating thehead position of the area 194, i.e., the head position of the unassignedportion in the file data recording area of the recording medium, filesystem information unassigned area information indicating the headposition of the area 192, i.e., the head position of the unassignedportion in the file system information recording area.

Next, content entry IDs and next entry IDs are extracted from alldirectory entries, and content entry IDs are extracted from all fileentries; all entries are checked on the basis of an analysis rule shownin FIG. 27 and TABLE 1; and the hierarchical structure of directoriesand files is restructured in accordance with the relationship betweenthe content entry IDs and the next entry IDs. The entry to be checkedfirst by this analysis rule must be the root entry.

TABLE 1 Directory entry Check of content entry Content of Content of orfile entry? ID completed or not? content entry ID? next entry ID?Process to be carried out (1) Directory (Root) Completed — NF End (2)Directory (Other than Root) Completed — NF Moving to parent directoryentry (3) Directory Completed — Value other than NF Moving to entrydesignated by next entry ID (4) Directory (Root) Not completed NF — End(5) Directory (Other than Root) Not completed NF — Moving to parentdirectory entry (6) Directory Not completed Value other than NF — Movingto entry designated by content entry ID (7) File — — NF Moving to patentdirectory entry (8) File — — Value other than NF Moving to entrydesignated by next entry ID

From a directory entry, directory attribute information, the newestrenewal time information of the directory and a directory name areextracted; and from a file entry, file attribute information, recordingdensity information, recording format information, the newest renewaltime information of the file, a file size, file recording positioninformation and a file name are extracted; by using necessaryinformation from among these information, the restructured hierarchicalstructure of directories/files is displayed by the display apparatus183.

An example of file system information is shown in FIG. 22, and ahierarchical structure reflecting the file system information of FIG. 22is shown in FIG. 21, and how the file system information is analyzed isdescribed specifically.

First, the next entry ID of the root directory has been set at NF. Thisindicates that the root directory is at the top of the hierarchicalstructure and that other directories and files are not present at thesame hierarchical level. The content entry ID of the root entry is theentry ID of DIR1, i.e., 2, whereby it is known that DIR1 is present justbelow the hierarchical level of the root directory. Next, the next entryID of DIR1 is the entry ID of DIR2, i.e., 3; furthermore, the next entryID of DIR2 is the entry ID of DIR3, i.e., 4. In addition, the next entryID of DIR3 is NF indicating that there is no directory or file in thesame hierarchical level. As a result, it is known that DIR1, DIR2 andDIR3 are present in the hierarchical level just under the rootdirectory. Furthermore, the content entry ID of DIR2 is set at NF. Thisindicates that there is no directory or file in the hierarchical leveljust under DIR2.

By using the present embodiment as described above, it is possible toanalyze file system information when file format data is treated by amagnetic tape medium for a DV and the like.

Embodiment 14

FIG. 28 is a block diagram showing a recording/reproducing apparatus inaccordance with a fourteenth embodiment; in FIG. 28, the numeral 201represents a recording/reproducing apparatus, the numeral 202 representsa transmission/reception unit, the numeral 203 represents a 1394 headerdeletion/addition means, the numeral 204 represents a CIP headerdeletion/addition and packet connection means, the numeral 205represents a recording/reproducing processing means, the numeral 206represents a buffer, and the numeral 207 represents a clock conversionmeans. In the recording/reproducing apparatus configured as describedabove, its operation will be described below.

The recording/reproducing apparatus 201 selects and receives packets tobe received, from among data packets received by thetransmission/reception unit 202 by watching the 1394 header and the CCIPheader. Transmitted channel numbers, data transmission destinations,types of data and the like, that is, information regarding receiveddata, can be distinguished by the header. The 1394 header and the CIPheader in the received packets are removed by the 1394 headerdeletion/addition means 203 and the CIP header deletion/addition andpacket connection means 204, and the source packet is restored. At thistime, error processing and the like are also carried out simultaneously.

Herein, while transmission time stamps are not removed but remain added,the source packet of 192 bytes is output to the recording/reproducingprocessing means 205. The configuration of this source packet is shownin FIG. 29.

The recording/reproducing processing means 205 provides a recordingprocess for the received source packet and carries out recording on arecording medium. At this time, by carrying out recording/reproductionafter conversion into the format of the existing digital VCR “DV” byusing such a method as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. Hei9-67633, compatibility with the existing DV can be maintained;therefore, it is not necessary to make a distinction between theexisting digital VCR format and MPEG recording, whereby cost reductioncan be attained. Furthermore, it is not necessary to generate arecording time stamp and to add it to the source packet; and it is notnecessary to analyze the content of each transport packet or to restorea clock following 27 MHz of the transmission source by using a PLL.

Furthermore, in the case when the problem of overflow/underflow mayoccur, it is possible to use a method of generating the clock of theIEEE1394 Interface ranging from 24.576 MHz to 27 MHz by using the clockconversion means 207 during recording or reproduction, or during both ofthem.

During reproduction, after processes such as demodulation and errorcorrection are carried out by the recording/reproducing processing means205, the source packet is restored. Since a transmission time stamp hasalready been included in the source packet, such a process of adding atransmission time stamp is not necessary at the transmission/receptionunit 202 of the recording/reproducing apparatus.

Consequently, by using the transmission time stamp from the originalsignal source, the reception apparatus which receives transmission datafrom the recording/reproducing means 205 can transmit data having thesame time interval as that of data, whereby decoding and image outputcan be carried out without causing the problem of overflow/underflow.

Embodiment 15

FIG. 30 is a block diagram showing a recording/reproducing apparatus inaccordance with a fifteenth embodiment; in FIG. 30, the numeral 201represents a recording/reproducing apparatus, the numeral 202 representsa transmission/reception unit, the numeral 203 represents a 1394 headerdeletion/addition means, the numeral 204 represents a CIP headerdeletion/addition and packet connection means, the numeral 205represents a recording/reproducing processing means, the numeral 206represents a buffer, the numeral 207 represents a clock conversionmeans, the numeral 208 represents a transmission time stampaddition/deletion means, and the numeral 209 represents a data typejudgment means. In the recording/reproducing apparatus configured asdescribed above, its operation will be described below.

The recording/reproducing apparatus 201 selects and receives packets tobe received, from among data packets received by thetransmission/reception unit 202 by watching the 1394 header and the CIPheader. Transmitted channel numbers, data transmission destinations,types of data and the like, that is, information regarding receiveddata, can be distinguished by the headers.

The 1394 header and the CIP header in the received packets are removedby the 1394 header deletion/addition means 203 and the CIP headerdeletion/addition and packet connection means 204, and the source packetis restored. At this time, error processing and the like are carried outsimultaneously.

Herein, while transmission time stamps are not removed but remain added,the source packet of 192 bytes is output to the recording/reproducingprocessing means 205. The data type judgment means 209 distinguishesdata type and the like by using the headers, and judges whether thetransmission time stamp is to be deleted or not. As AV datatransmittable on the IEEE1394, SD (the NTSC and PAL systems), HD(HighVision), SD-L (a compression system for low-rate recording of SD)and the like in the DV are available; information for identifying it iscontained in the CIP header, whereby the input of the AV data and MPEGcan be identified.

In the case when it is judged that the transmission time stamp is to bedeleted, the transmission time stamp is deleted by the transmission timestamp addition/deletion means 208, and output is carried out to therecording/reproducing processing means 205. In the case when it isjudged that the transmission time stamp is not to be deleted, thetransmission time stamp is not deleted, and output is directly carriedout to the recording/reproducing processing means 205. The data typejudgment means 209 also transmits information regarding whether thetransmission time stamp has been deleted or not to therecording/reproducing processing means 205.

The information regarding whether the transmission time stamp has beendeleted or not is also recorded. The recording/reproducing processingmeans 205 provides a recording process for the received source packetand carries out recording on a recording medium. At this time,conversion into the format of the existing digital VCR “DV” is done, andrecording/reproduction is carried out while compatibility with theexisting DV is maintained, by using such a method as disclosed inJapanese Patent Application No. Hei 9-67633; therefore, it is notnecessary to make a distinction between the existing digital VCR formatand MPEG recording, whereby cost reduction can be attained.

Furthermore, it is not necessary to generate a recording time stamp andto add it to the source packet. Therefore, it is not necessary toanalyze the content of each transport packet or to restore the 27 MHzclock by using a PLL. In the case when the problem of overflow/underflowmay occur, it is possible to use a method of generating the clock of theIEEE1394 Interface ranging from 24.576 MHz to 27 MHz by using the clockconversion means 207.

During reproduction, after processes such as demodulation and errorcorrection are carried out by the recording/reproducing processing means205, the source packet is restored. In accordance with the informationregarding whether the transmission time stamp has been deleted or not,whether the transmission time stamp is to be added or not is judged. Inthe case when a transmission time stamp has already been included in thesource packet, such a process of adding a transmission time stamp is notnecessary at the transmission/reception means 2 of therecording/reproducing apparatus. In the case when the transmission timestamp has already been included in the source packet, a transmissiontime stamp is generated and added by the transmission time stampaddition/deletion means 208 on the basis of reproduced timing.

Consequently, by using the transmission time stamp from the originalsignal source, the reception apparatus of a decoder which is suppliedwith transmission data from the recording/reproducing means and operatescan transmit data having the same time interval as that of data, wherebydecoding and image output can be carried out without causing the problemof overflow/underflow. By using this invention, application is possibleto both cases: one case wherein the timing is required to be restoredstrictly, and the other case wherein the timing is not required to berestored strictly.

Embodiment 16

FIG. 31 is a block diagram showing a recording/reproducing apparatus inaccordance with a sixteenth embodiment; in FIG. 31, the numeral 201represents a recording/reproducing apparatus, the numeral 202 representsa transmission/reception unit, the numeral 203 represents a 1394 headerdeletion/addition means, the numeral 204 represents a CIP headerdeletion/addition and packet connection means, the numeral 205represents a recording/reproducing processing means, the numeral 206represents a buffer, the numeral 207 represents a clock conversionmeans, and the numeral 210 represents a timing extraction means. In therecording/reproducing apparatus configured as described above, itsoperation will be described below.

The recording/reproducing apparatus 201 selects and receives packets tobe received, from among data packets received by thetransmission/reception unit 202 by watching the 1394 header and the CIPheader. Transmitted channel numbers, data transmission destinations,types of data and the like, that is, information regarding receiveddata, can be distinguished by the headers.

The 1394 header and the CIP header in the received packets are removedby the 1394 header deletion/addition means 203 and the CIP headerdeletion/addition and packet connection means 204, and the source packetis restored. At this time, error processing and the like are alsocarried out simultaneously.

Herein, while transmission time stamps are not removed but remain added,each source packet of 192 bytes is output to the recording/reproducingprocessing means 205. The recording/reproducing processing means 205provides a recording process for the received source packet and carriesout recording on a recording medium. At this time, conversion into theformat of the existing digital VCR “DV” is done, andrecording/reproduction is carried out while compatibility with theexisting DV is maintained (refer to Japanese Patent Application No. Hei9-67633); therefore, it is not necessary to make a distinction betweenthe existing digital VCR format and MPEG recording, whereby costreduction can be attained.

Furthermore, it is not necessary to generate a recording time stamp andto add it to the source packet; and it is not necessary to analyze thecontent of each transport packet or to restore the 27 MHz clock by usinga PLL.

In the case when the problem of overflow/underflow may occur, it ispossible to use a method of generating the clock of the IEEE1394Interface ranging from 24.576 MHz to 27 MHz by using the clockconversion means 207 during recording or reproduction, or during both ofthem.

During reproduction, after processes such as demodulation and errorcorrection are carried out by the recording/reproducing processing means205, the source packet is restored. Since a transmission time stamp hasalready been included in the source packet, such a process of adding atransmission time stamp is not necessary at the transmission/receptionunit 202 of the recording/reproducing apparatus.

By the timing extraction means 210, the transmission time stamp added tothe restored source packet is compared with the count value of theoperation clock of the IEEE1394 Interface of the recording/reproducingapparatus, and output is carried out from the buffer 206 to thetransmission/reception unit 202 at coincident timing.

As a result, the time interval for each packet, being shifted because ofrecording/reproducing, becomes identical to that being present beforerecording. Therefore, even if jitter which is increased because ofrecording/reproducing cannot be absorbed owing to a small buffer on thereception side, the condition wherein the above-mentioned jitter cannotbe absorbed can be prevented by restoring the timing, to some extent, oftransmission from the above-mentioned recording/reproducing apparatus tothe above-mentioned transmission line on the basis of the transmissiontime stamp. Consequently, by using the transmission time stamp from theoriginal signal source, the reception apparatus of a decoder which issupplied with transmission data from the recording/reproducing means cantransmit data having the same time interval as that of data, wherebydecoding and image output can be carried out without causing the problemof overflow/underflow.

Embodiment 17

FIG. 32 is a block diagram showing the entire configuration of acomputer in accordance with a seventeenth embodiment. In FIG. 32, thenumeral 251 represents a processor, the numeral 252 represents a memory,the numeral 253 represents a bus, the numeral 254 represents an IEEE1394Interface, the numeral 255 represents a SCSI Interface, the numeral 256represents a DV, the numeral 257 represents a hard disk, the numeral 261represents transmission data from the DV 256, the numeral 262 representswriting data to the hard disk 257, the numeral 263 represents areception command for the reception data 261 of the DV 256, and thenumeral 264 represents a writing command for the writing data 262 of thehard disk 257.

FIG. 33 shows a concrete example of the data 261. In FIG. 33, thenumerals 265 a, 265 b, 265 c, 265 d, 265 e, 265 f and 265 g aretransmission data packets from the DV 256.

FIG. 34 represents an example of the configuration of the memory 252. InFIG. 34, the numerals 271 and 272 represent banks.

FIG. 35 is a time chart at the time when transmission data transmittedfrom the DV 256 is received and written on the hard disk 257.

The DV 256 keeps transmitting the data 261, and transmits the packets265 a to 265 g every 125 microseconds as shown in FIG. 33.

First, the processor 251 transmits the reception command 263 to theIEEE1394 Interface 254. After receiving the reception command 263, theIEEE1394 Interface 254 receives the transmission data 261 transmittedfrom the DV 256, and writes it in the memory 252. At this time, data iswritten to the bank 271 of the memory 252 at first; when the bank 271 isfilled, data is written to the bank 272. Furthermore, when the bank 272is filled, data is written again to the bank 271.

Furthermore, the processor 251 transmits the writing command 264 to theSCSI Interface 255. After receiving the writing command 264, the SCSIInterface 255 takes out all of written data or only the required data,and writes the data as the writing data 262 on the hard disk 257. Atthis time, when the IEEE1394 Interface 254 is writing data to the bank271 of the memory 252, data is read from the bank 272; when the IEEE1394Interface 254 is writing data to the bank 272, data is read from thebank 271.

Once the processor 251 issues the reception command 263 and the writingcommand 264, the process of the IEEE1394 Interface 254 and the processof the SCSI Interface 255 are conducted in parallel as shown in FIG. 35.Therefore, the transmission data 261 transmitted from the DV 256 iswritten to the bank 271 or the bank 272 without fail; at the same time,the data written to the bank 271 and the bank 272 is written in the harddisk 257 via the SCSI Interface 105 without fail. As a result, all ofthe received transmission data 261 or required data among thetransmission data 261 can be written completely on the hard disk 257.

Although it is configured that the process of the IEEE1394 Interface 254and the process of the SCSI Interface 105 are conducted in parallel, apseudo-parallel operation using time sharing or the like may be used.

Furthermore, although the memory 252 comprises two areas of the bank 271and the bank 272, it may be divided into plural banks, and the size ofeach bank may be constant or variable. Moreover, all banks may have anequal size.

Besides, the writing of the transmission data 261 from the IEEE1394Interface 254 to the memory 252 may be controlled by the processor 251or may not be controlled by the processor 251.

In addition, the reading of the data 262 from the memory 252 to the SCSIInterface 255 may be controlled by the processor 251 or may not becontrolled by the processor 251.

Furthermore, the IEEE1394 Interface may be a different interface capableof receiving stream data which is kept transmitted at nearly regularintervals at all times, and the SCSI Interface may be a differentinterface.

Moreover, the DV may be a different apparatus for outputting stream datawhich is kept transmitted at nearly regular intervals at all times, andthe hard disk may be a different recording medium.

Embodiment 18

FIG. 36 is a block diagram showing the entire configuration of acomputer in accordance with an eighteenth embodiment. In FIG. 36, thenumeral 281 represents a processor, the numeral 282 represents anIEEE1394 Interface, the numeral 283 represents a DV, and the numeral 291represents a control command of the DV 283.

FIG. 37 shows an example of data to be written on the hard disk 257. InFIG. 37, the numeral 301 represents data to be written on the hard disk257, the numeral 302 represents data actually written on the hard disk257, and the numeral 303 represents data, among the data 301, notwritten on the hard disk 257.

FIG. 38 is a time chart at the time when data transmitted from the DV283 is received and written on the hard disk 257. The numeral 292represents a transmission command, i.e., one of control commands 291,the numeral 293 represents a retransmission command, i.e., one of thecontrol commands 291, the numeral 304 represents a first datatransmission period, and the numeral 305 represents a second datatransmission period.

First, the processor 251 transmits the transmission command 292 to theDV 283 as the control command 291. After receiving the transmissioncommand 292, the DV 283 starts transmitting the transmission data 261.In order that the transmission data 261 can be transmitted as thepackets 265 a to 265 g every 125 microseconds as shown in FIG. 33, theDV 283 keeps transmitting the transmission data 261 at nearly regularintervals. The transmission data 261 includes the data 301 to be writtenon the hard disk.

Next, the processor 251 transmits the reception command 263 to theIEEE1394 Interface 282. After receiving the reception command 263, theIEEE1394 Interface 282 receives the transmission data 261 transmittedfrom the DV 283, and writes it in the memory 252. At this time, data iswritten to the bank 271 of the memory 252 at first; when the bank 271 isfilled, data is written to the bank 272. Furthermore, when the bank 272is filled, data is written again to the bank 271.

Furthermore, the processor 281 transmits the writing command 264 to theSCSI Interface 255. After receiving the writing command 264, the SCSIInterface 255 takes out all of written data or only the required data,and writes the data as the writing data 262 on the hard disk 257. Atthis time, when the IEEE1394 Interface 282 is writing data to the bank271 of the memory 252, data is read from the bank 272; when the IEEE1394Interface 282 is writing data to the bank 272, data is read from thebank 271.

The time chart for the above-mentioned operation is the same as thatshown in FIG. 35.

If the data transfer speed of the SCSI Interface 255 or the writingspeed of the hard disk 257 is low, or if a transmission line erroroccurs, the data 303 among the data 301 is lost for example, and onlythe data 302 can be written on the hard disk 257. In this case, theprocessor 281 transmits the retransmission command 293 as the controlcommand 291 to the DV 283.

After receiving the retransmission command 293, the DV 283 startstransmitting the transmission data 261 including the data 301 again, andcarries out the same operation as that described above.

The SCSI Interface 255 takes out the lost data 303 among thetransmission data 261 written in the memory 252, and additionally writesthe data in the hard disk 257, whereby all the data 301 can be writtenon the hard disk 257.

Once the processor 281 issues the reception command 263 and the writingcommand 264, the process of the IEEE1394 Interface 282 and the processof the SCSI Interface 255 are conducted in parallel as shown in FIG. 35.Therefore, the transmission data 261 transmitted from the DV 283 iswritten to the bank 271 or the bank 272 without fail; at the same time,the data written on the bank 271 and the bank 272 is written on the harddisk 257 via the SCSI Interface 255 without fail. If a data loss occurs,the processor 281 transmits the retransmission command 293 to the DV283, whereby the same operation is repeated to recover the lost data,and all the data 301 to be written on the hard disk 257 can thus bewritten completely.

Although it is configured that the process of the IEEE1394 Interface 282and the process of the SCSI Interface 255 are conducted in parallel, apseudo-parallel operation using time sharing or the like may be used.

Furthermore, although it is configured that the SCSI Interface 255 readsonly the data 303 lost in the period 304 from the memory 252 during dataretransmission, i.e., during the period 305 shown in FIG. 38, andadditionally write the data on the hard disk 257, other data may beoverwritten on the hard disk 257.

Moreover, although data transmission is carried out twice, it may becarried out three or more times.

Besides, the writing of the transmission data 261 from the IEEE1394Interface 282 to the memory 252 may be controlled by the processor 281or may not be controlled by the processor 281.

In addition, the reading of the data 262 from the memory 252 to the SCSIInterface 255 may be controlled by the processor 281 or may not becontrolled by the processor 281.

Furthermore, the IEEE1394 Interface may be a different interface capableof receiving stream data which is kept transmitted at nearly regularintervals at all times and capable of transmitting control commandsissued by the processor to the DV; and the SCSI Interface may be adifferent interface.

Moreover, the DV may be a different apparatus capable of outputtingstream data which is kept transmitted at nearly regular intervals at alltimes and capable of controlling operation from the processor; and thehard disk may be a different recording medium.

Embodiment 19

FIG. 39 is a block diagram showing the entire configuration of acomputer in accordance with a nineteenth embodiment. In FIG. 39, thenumeral 311 represents a processor, the numeral 312 represents a memory,the numeral 313 represents a bus, the numeral 314 represents an IEEE1394Interface, the numeral 315 represents a SCSI Interface, the numeral 316represents a DV, the numeral 317 represents a hard disk, the numeral 321represents transmission data to the DV 316, the numeral 322 representsreading data from the hard disk 317, the numeral 323 represents atransmission command for the transmission data 321 to the IEEE1394Interface 314, and the numeral 324 represents a reading command for thereading data 322 to the SCSI Interface 315.

FIG. 40 represents an example of the configuration of the memory 312. InFIG. 40, the numerals 331 and 332 represent banks.

FIG. 41 is a time chart at the time when the reading data 322 is readfrom the hard disk 317 and the transmission data 321 is transmitted tothe DV 316.

The DV 256 keeps receiving the transmission data 321, and thetransmission data 321 is required to be transmitted in the same way asthat shown in FIG. 33.

First, the processor 311 transmits the transmission command 323 to theIEEE1394 Interface 314. After receiving the transmission command 323,the IEEE1394 Interface 314 transmits predetermined data added to thedata read from the memory 312 to the DV 316 as the transmission data321. At this time, data is read from the bank 331 of the memory 312 atfirst; after the data of the bank 331 is transmitted completely, data isread from the bank 272. Furthermore, after the data of the bank 332 istransmitted completely, data is read from the bank 331 again.

Furthermore, the processor 311 transmits the reading command 324 to theSCSI Interface 315. After receiving the reading command 324, the SCSIInterface 315 reads reading data 322 to be transmitted to the DV 316during the period C in FIG. 41 from the hard disk 317 and writes in thememory 312. At this time, when the IEEE1394 Interface 314 is readingdata from the bank 331 of the memory 312, data is written to the bank332; when the IEEE1394 Interface 314 is writing data to the bank 332,data is read from the bank 331.

Once the processor 311 issues the transmission command 323 and thereading command 324, the process of the IEEE1394 Interface 314 and theprocess of the SCSI Interface 315 are conducted in parallel as shown inFIG. 41. Therefore, the transmission data 321 is transmitted from thebank 331 or the bank 332 to the DV 316 without fail; at the same time,the reading data 322 having been read from the hard disk 317 and to betransmitted next is written to the bank 331 and the bank 332 via theSCSI Interface 315 without fail. Therefore, data read from the hard disk317 is transmitted from the IEEE1394 Interface 314 to the DV 316 withoutinterruption.

Although it is configured that the process of the IEEE1394 Interface 314and the process of the SCSI Interface 315 are conducted in parallel, apseudo-parallel operation using time sharing or the like may be used.

Furthermore, although it is configured that the memory 312 comprises twoareas of the bank 331 and the bank 332, it may be divided into pluralbanks, and the size of each bank may be constant or variable. Moreover,all banks may have an equal size.

Besides, the reading of the transmission data 321 from the memory 312 tothe IEEE1394 Interface 314 may be controlled by the processor 311 or maynot be controlled by the processor 311.

In addition, the writing of the reading data 322 from the SCSI Interface315 to the memory 312 may be controlled by the processor 311 or may notbe controlled by the processor 311.

Furthermore, the IEEE1394 Interface may be a different interface capableof receiving stream data which is kept transmitted at nearly regularintervals at all times; and the SCSI Interface may be a differentinterface.

Moreover, the DV may be a different apparatus for inputting stream datawhich is kept transmitted at nearly regular intervals at all times; andthe hard disk may be a different recording medium.

In each of the above-mentioned embodiments, the above-mentioned functionis described so as to be attained in the form of a hardware (apparatus);however, this can be carried out easily by using other independentsystems by implementing the function by using programs for a computer, amicrocomputer or the like, and by recording and transferring theprograms to a recording medium such as a floppy disk. FIG. 42 is a viewfor explaining a case wherein this is carried out by using a floppydisk.

FIG. 42(a) is a view showing an example of the physical format of thefloppy disk used as the main unit of the recording medium. Tracks areformed concentrically from the outer circumference to the innercircumference thereof, and divided into 16 sectors in the radialdirection. Programs are recorded in areas allocated in this way.

FIG. 42(b) is a view explaining a case for accommodating this floppydisk. A front view of the floppy disk case, a sectional view thereof anda view of the floppy disk are given respectively from left. Byaccommodating the floppy disk in the case in this way, the disk can beprotected against dust and external shocks, and can be transferredsafely.

FIG. 42(c) is a view explaining how programs are recorded/reproduced onthe floppy disk. By connecting a floppy disk drive to a computer systemas shown in the figure, the programs can be recorded/reproduced on thedisk. The disk is incorporated into and removed from the floppy diskdrive through an insertion slot. In the case of recording, the programsare recorded from the computer system to the disk by the floppy diskdrive. In the case of reproduction, the programs are read from thefloppy disk drive and transferred to the computer system.

In this embodiment, the explanation is done by using the floppy disk asa recording medium, however, an optical disk can also be used in asimilar way. Furthermore, the recording medium is not limited to this,any medium capable of recording programs, such as an IC card and a ROMcassette, can be used in a similar way. In other words,by forming arecording medium such as a magnetic recording medium or an opticalrecording medium on which programs for making a computer carry out thefunctions of all or part of means described in one of theabove-mentioned embodiments, and by using it as described above, thesame effect as that described above can be delivered.

Furthermore, a medium incorporating programs for implementing all orpart of the functions of the means, portions or methods in accordancewith each of the above-mentioned inventions by using a computer alsobelongs to the present invention.

Industrial Usability

In the case when a control apparatus controls a recording/reproducingapparatus during transmission/reception between the control apparatusand the recording/reproducing apparatus, the present invention providesa data recording/reproducing apparatus capable of preventing theabove-mentioned transmission/reception from malfunctioning by controloperation carried out from an operation panel.

The present invention provides a data recording/reproducing apparatus, afile generation method and a file management method capable ofgenerating file system information and controlling generated files sothat contents recorded on a recording medium can be confirmed moreeasily than ever before.

The present invention provides a data recording/reproducing apparatusand a file management method capable of carrying out file managementcapable of treating data having a real-time characteristic.

The present invention provides a file system information generationapparatus and a file system information analysis apparatus forgenerating/analyzing file system information constituting a file systemfor a DV required to record and control computer data in a file formatin the DV.

The present invention provides a recording/reproducing apparatus capableof restoring packet output timing during reproduction by using minimaladditional circuits in the case of recording MPEG2data. Furthermore,data in the MPEG2transport stream format can be recorded whilecompatibility with the existing digital VCR “DV” (Digital Video) formatis maintained in particular.

The present invention provides a method of writing stream data beingkept output at nearly regular intervals at all times on a recordingmedium without data loss in a PC, and a method of reading data from therecording medium as stream data being kept transmitted at nearly regularintervals at all times in the PC.

What is claimed is:
 1. A recording/reproducing apparatus comprising:transmission/reception means of transmitting/receiving data and commandsignals from a transmission line, the command signals including anoperation valid/invalid command received from a control apparatus by wayof the transmission line; recording/reproducing means of recording datareceived from said transmission/reception means on a recording mediumduring reception and of transmitting data reproduced from said recordingmedium to said transmission/reception means during transmission;operation means of generating an operation signal for determining theoperation of said recording/reproducing means; control means ofcontrolling said recording/reproducing means in accordance with saidcommand signals or said operation signal; and switching signalgeneration means of outputting a switching signal for determiningwhether said operation signal is valid or invalid to said control means;wherein the transmission/reception means is configured to provide theoperation valid/invalid command to the switching signal generationmeans; the switching signal generation means is configured to output theswitching signal in response to the operation valid/invalid commandreceived from the control apparatus; said switching signal generationmeans outputs said switching signal as an operation means valid signalfor validating said operation signal to said control means in the casewhen a command received from said transmission/reception means is anoperation valid command, and said switching signal generation meansoutputs said switching signal as an operation means invalid signal forinvalidating said operation signal to said control means in the casewhen a command received from said transmission/reception means is anoperation invalid command, and said control means validates saidoperation signal output from said operation means and disregards saidcommand signal in the case of receiving said operation means validsignal, and said control means invalidates said operation signal outputfrom said operation means and uses said command signal in the case ofreceiving said operation means invalid signal.
 2. Arecording/reproducing apparatus comprising: transmission/reception meanscoupled to a transmission line of transmitting/receiving data andcommand signals from a control apparatus by way of the transmissionline, and generating a transmission line reset signal when theconnection of said transmission line is disconnected;recording/reproducing means of recording data received from saidtransmission/reception means on a recording medium during reception andof transmitting data reproduced from said recording medium to saidtransmission/reception means during transmission; operation means ofgenerating an operation signal for determining the operation of saidrecording/reproducing means; control means of controlling saidrecording/reproducing means in accordance with said command signals orsaid operation signal; and switching signal generation means ofoutputting a switching signal for determining whether said operationsignal is valid or invalid to said control means; wherein thetransmission/reception means is configured to provide the transmissionline reset signal to the switching signal generation means when theconnection of the transmission line is disconnected at either thecontrol apparatus or the transmission/reception means or both; saidswitching signal generation means outputs said switching signal as anoperation means valid signal for validating said operation signal tosaid control means in the case of receiving said transmission line resetsignal from said transmission/reception means, and said control meansvalidates said operation signal output from said operation means in thecase of receiving said operation means valid signal.
 3. Arecording/reproducing apparatus comprising: transmission/reception meansof transmitting/receiving data and command signals from a controlapparatus by way of a transmission line, a portion of the commandsignals being manufacturer dependent, and for receiving manufacturerinformation from the control apparatus via the transmission line;recording/reproducing means of recording data received from saidtransmission/reception means on a recording medium during reception andof transmitting data reproduced from said recording medium to saidtransmission/reception means during transmission; operation means ofgenerating an operation signal for determining the operation of saidrecording/reproducing means; control means of controlling saidrecording/reproducing means in accordance with said command signals orsaid operation signal; switching signal generation means of outputting aswitching signal for determining whether said operation signal is validor invalid to said control means; and a comparator of comparing saidreceived manufacturer information with specific manufacturer informationstored in itself, and outputting a specific manufacturer informationreception signal in the case of coincidence to the switching signalgeneration means; wherein the switching signal generation means isconfigured to output the switching signal in response only to thereceived specific manufacturer information reception signal, indicatingthat the control apparatus includes the portion of the command signalsbeing manufacturer dependent; said switching signal generation meansoutputs said switching signal as an operation means invalid signal forinvalidating said operation signal to said control means in the case ofreceiving said specific manufacturer information reception signal fromsaid comparator, and said control means invalidates said operationsignal output from said operation means in the case of receiving saidoperation means invalid signal and uses the command signals receivedfrom the transmission/reception means.
 4. A recording/reproducingapparatus comprising: transmission/reception means oftransmitting/receiving data and command signals from a control apparatusby way of a transmission line; recording/reproducing means of recordingdata received from said transmission/reception means on a recordingmedium during reception and of transmitting data reproduced from saidrecording medium to said transmission/reception means duringtransmission; operation means of generating an operation signal fordetermining the operation of said recording/reproducing means; controlmeans of controlling said recording/reproducing means in accordance withsaid command signals or said operation signal; switching signalgeneration means of outputting a switching signal for determiningwhether said operation signal is valid or invalid to said control means;and a binary switch of outputting a binary signal to said switchingsignal generation means, wherein said switching signal generation meansgenerates said switching signal when said binary signal is apredetermined value indicating that the operation signal is invalid, andsaid control means invalidates said operation signal output from saidoperation means in response to said switching signal indicating that theoperation signal is invalid, said control means controls saidrecording/reproducing means using said command signals, when saidswitching signal generation means determines that said operation signalis invalid, and said control means controls said recording/reproducingmeans using said operation signal, when said switching signal generationmeans determines that said operation signal is valid.
 5. Arecording/reproducing apparatus in accordance with one of claims 1 to 4,wherein said transmission/reception means is an IEEE1394 Interface.